Disagreement on Priority of Counterfeiting at WTO TRIPS Meeting
Advanced and developing countries disagreed on what priority to give to counterfeit goods at a June 5 meeting of the WTO Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), said the World Trade Organization.
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Advanced countries said they consider counterfeiting to be one of the most serious problems to be discussed by the TRIPS council because of economic and product safety concerns, said the WTO. Some developing countries, however, said intellectual property rights violations should not be confused with sub-standard products, reported the WTO, and should not be a priority issue at the TRIPS council. These countries argued the discussion should rather take place in agencies such as the World Customs Organization, because customs officers are responsible for tackling internationally traded counterfeit goods, and the World Health Organization, whose work includes tackling sub-standard medicines.
Developing countries were also concerned that a discussion with a broad scope could jeopardize the legitimate use of products such as generic medicines.