How Much Is Too Much? Anti-counterfeit Measures and Access to Medicines in the East African Community

摘要

Falsified and substandard medical products (FSMPs) now constitute a serious threat to both developed and developing (and least-developed) countries, with likely consequences ranging from treatment failure, anti-microbial resistance, to death. Many of the parties to the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) have adopted an intellectual property (IP)-based approach in response to this threat. Their justification is that, since FSMPs imitate registered IP rights, a response built around enforcement of IP will drastically reduce trade in FSMPs. The East African Community (EAC), an epicentre for FSMPs, also subscribes to this approach. However, while an IP-based approach to anti-counterfeit measures may be justifiable for developed countries, can it be so justified for low and middle-income countries (LMICs) like the EAC? This article seeks to untangle the prevailing anti-counterfeit measures in the EAC with a view to ascertaining how much of them may be too much to derail access to medicines in the region.