AMCHAM M’sia denies patent provisions in US FTAs
Bernama, Malaysia
AMCHAM M’sia Denies Patent Provisions In US FTAs
24 August 2006
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 24 (Bernama) — The American-Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM Malaysia) Thursday refuted press reports that the US Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) in Chile and Singapore seeks to extend patents for 30 to 40 years through TRIPS-Plus.
"There are no such provisions in the US FTAs with Singapore and Chile," AMCHAM Malaysia said in a statement, here Thursday.
It said the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers’ (FMM) statement reported in a local English daily on Aug 22 as being essentially incorrect.
The misinterpretation of the patent provisions on most US FTAs is in regard to patent term restoration which only comes into play where there is an unreasonable delay in the issuance of a patent by the relevant authorities.
It is entirely consistent with the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) under the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Characterising these provisions as TRIPS-Plus was misleading because these provisions are, in fact, fully compliant with the framework established by TRIPS, the statement said.
It said the Industrial Master Plan 3 (IMP3) launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi recently has identified the pharmaceutical sector as one of the important growth sector and Malaysia expects to leverage on the bilateral agreements to remain globally competitive.
Malaysia is currently in negotiations with the US on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) and the Third Round talks are scheduled to be held in Malaysia in September, it added.
