PMA ON PATENT PROTECTION ABROAD: U.S. MARKET ACCESS AS LEVERAGE
Executive Summary
PMA ON PATENT PROTECTION ABROAD: U.S. MARKET ACCESS AS LEVERAGE for protecting patents overseas could be employed by the U.S. govt., Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Assn. President Gerald Mossinghoff suggested at a U.S. Department of State symposium on intellectual property March 25. "Continued access to the vast U.S. market is a strong card to play in getting the attention of trading partners that do not provide adequate intellectual property protection," Mossinghoff stated. "It is a card we should continue to use and encourage other developed country governments to use as well." Mossinghoff cited the administration's willingness to consider Section 301 (of the 1974 Trade Act) action against South Korea as "a key motivating factor in that country's apparent change of view" toward respecting intellectual property rights. He also attributed Mexico's increased enforcement of patent rights to that country's interest in maintaining access to the U.S. market. "Hopefully, the prospects for success in these two countries will serve as precedents in our efforts elsewhere, especially in Brazil," the PMA exec stated. Noting that the U.N.'s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is "no longer an organization of developed countries, all with a compatible view that intellectual property is a driving force for economic development," Mossinghoff recommended that the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT) take intellectual property under its wing. "GATT's principal function is to stop trade distortive actions by governments, [and] patent pirating clearly distorts not only trade but investment as well," he declared.
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