Beyond Benefit Sharing: Steps Towards Realizing the Human Right to Health - Benefit Sharing - page 201

Table 9.2 Types of Intellectual Property
Type Description Example

Trademark Typically a logo, word or phrase to

distinguish one's product from
someone else's

Mercedes-Benz three-pointed
star

Design Typically a shape or pattern, which

gives one's product its unique
appearance

Coca-Cola contour bottle

Copyright Typically original material in the arts,

media or computer programming

Harry Potter topics

Patent Typically a product, substance, method

or process which is newly invented
and useful

Clinical trials data

Data protection Data on drug safety and efficacy

submitted to regulatory authority

Driverless car

Plant breeder rights New varieties of plants New plant variety that is not

eligible for a patent

Geographic indication Protected link between a product and

its local territory

Champagne

Trade secrets Information one does not want to

become public knowledge, usually
protected through confidentiality
agreements

Google's search algorithm

Circuit layout rights Typically layout for computer chips Computer chips

not been successful in the context of medical research in developing countries.
According to the UN special rapporteur Anand Grover, nearly 30% of the world
population do not have access to life-saving medicines:
Nearly 2 billion people lack access to essential medicines. Improving access to medicines
could save 10 million lives a year, 4 million in Africa and South East Asia. The inability of
populations to access medicines is partly due to high costs…. TRIPS [Agreement on Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights] and FTAs [free trade agreements] have had
an adverse impact on prices and availability of medicines, making it difficult for countries to
comply with their obligations to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to health (Grover 2009 ).
As Grover points out, TRIPS and FTAs 7 are partly responsible for the lack of
access to products of medical research in developing countries. TRIPS is an agree-
ment negotiated by members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) which took
effect on 1 January 1995 and requires signatories to institute a systematic and pre-
dictable system of protection for intellectual property. In essence, it rolls out strong

7 Free trade agreements are usually bilateral agreements between two countries (often with the
United States as one partner), which remove all trade barriers, such as import tariffs, for trading
partners. We will concentrate here on intellectual property rights.