Author: InfoJustice Eds.

[Letter endorsed by 208 Civil Society groups] We write to you as representatives of health organisations, patient groups, civil society and community organisations from across the globe to raise concerns over the negotiations between the UK and India on an ongoing free trade agreement. The leaked text of a chapter on Intellectual Property (IP) presents serious challenges to access to pharmaceutical products globally. While we recognise that the leaked text may not reflect the current state of demands from the UK on this topic, the lack of transparency leaves us without assurances that all damaging provisions will be removed from the list of demands your team is putting forward.

[Joint statement endorsed by 11 Kenyan Civil Society Organizations] This statement is in reference to the Statement on the Kenya – United States First Round of the Strategic Trade and Investment Partnership Talks… without endorsing the negotiations, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Ministry for ensuring that intellectual property is not one of the identified areas of negotiation. We would like to urge the Ministry to ensure that this position is maintained throughout these negotiations.

[Shirin Syed] The draft of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) chapter on intellectual property, leaked on October 31, reveals that there are several TRIPS-plus provisions which will devastate the global supply of generic medicines. The FTA contains harmful IP provision such as diluting the patentability standards, overriding section 3(d) of the Indian Patents Act and eliminating pre-grant opposition. If implemented, these provisions would pose a serious threat to the accessibility and affordability of medicines in India and globally.