One of the most concerning areas of recent patent enforcement is a life or death matter for thousands of people around the world. Restricted access to vital medicines in developing countries is one of the most controversial international intellectual property issues today. There is a new international treaty called the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) being negotiated among developed countries, and it is expected to bring a huge impact on access to medicine in developing countries.

This article proposes what ACTA should include in order to protect access to medicine in developing countries. It discusses the need to allow broader compulsory licensing of pharmaceutical patents to encourage increased production of generic drugs and bring down the overall prices of essential medicine in developing countries. It also examines the need to regulate counterfeit drugs in order to promote research and development from pharmaceutical companies, while correctly distinguishing generic drugs from counterfeit drugs. Lastly, this article concludes by suggesting the need for a provision in ACTA that recognizes the importance of access to medicine provisions in multinational treaties over the regional and bilateral agreements.

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