The Developmental Ramifications of Vanuatu's Intellectual Property Commitments on Joining the World Trade Organisation

Abstract

After over a decade of protracted negotiations, Vanuatu joined the World Trade Organimtion (WTO) in 2012. Intellectual property provisions formed part of Vanuatu's accession package, and included some Agreement on TradeRelated Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPs) Plus provisions. This paper will look at the potential effects that these new undertakings will have on two key areas of development, namely, health and education. It argues that the new intellectual property framework is likely to have detrimental effects on access to both medicines and other medical and also educational materials, which is at odds with the developmental aspirations of membership. Although these can to an extent be mitigated by better use of flexibilities permitted within the wro framework. this should be coupled with the embracing of an open access mentality toward intellectual property fights.