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Introduction
17
rightswithrespecttotheirmanufacturedproductsforadeterminedamount
oftime.27
Simultaneouslywiththestrengtheningofglobalstandardsforintellectual
propertyprotection,theproblemoftheHIV/AIDSpandemichadbecome
significant.Temostafectedcountries,primarilydevelopingcountries,did
nothaveadequateresourcestoenableprovidingappropriatetreatmentand,
aboveall,accesstotheappropriatemedicinalproducts.Manyofthemalso
facedconsiderabledifcultiesrelatedtotheinterpretationandimplementa-
tionoftheprovisionsoftheTRIPSAgreement.Teygainedspecificpublicity
inconnectionwiththeRepublicofSouthAfrica’sadoptionoflegislation
onthecontrolofdrugsandrelatedsubstancesinDecember1997.28Faced
withrapidlyincreasingnumbersofHIVinfections,thelegislationintro-
ducedprovisionstoensuremoreafordabledrugpricesthroughimportof
patentedmedicinesandcompulsorylicenses,underwhichapprovalsare
grantedfortheuseofaninvention-inthiscase,fortheproductionorsale
ofadrug-withouttheconsentofthepatentholder.29
Teproposedlegislationarousedfierceoppositionfromnumerous
representativesofthepharmaceuticalindustryaswellastheUSgovern-
mentandrepresentativesoftheEuropeanCommunities.Asaresult,the
UnitedStatessuspendedthebenefitsgrantedtoSouthAfricaonthebasis
oftheGeneralizedSystemofPreferences.OnMarch1,2001,thirty-nine
pharmaceuticalcompaniesfiledalawsuitinoneofthecourtsofSouthAfrica,
inwhichtheyaccusedtheaforementionedregulationofcontradictingthe
SouthAfricanConstitutionandtheprovisionsoftheTRIPSAgreement,
particularlytheprohibitionofdiscriminationbasedonfieldoftechnology
inArticle27.Tatdisputewaspublicizedbythemediainmanycountries,as
27M.Barczewski,Kogoniestaćnazdrowie(“Whocannotalordhealth?”)...,p.146.
28
MedicinesandRelatedSubstancesControlAmendmentAct,uRepublicofSouthAfrica
GovernmentGazette”
,12.12.1997.
29AsM.duVallemphasized,compulsoryencroachingonexclusiverightsisaparticularly
touchysubjectfortheUS,sincetheirpatentlawneverprovidedforsuchapossibility.Foryears,
representativesoftheUnitedStatesledabattleontheinternationalforumfortheabolition
ofthepossibilityofacompulsoryencroachingonapatentmonopoly-M.duVall,Prawo
patentowe(PatentLaw),Warszawa2008,p.112.
