Access to essential technologies: The role of the interface between intellectual property, competition and human rights

Intellectual property (IP) can stimulate innovation but it can also impose restrictions on the wider development of and access to essential technologies. Yet IP should be viewed within the context of a larger legal framework, which includes the laws of human rights and competition. This article introduces these laws into this larger framework and explores their relationship with IP. The article reviews steps which have been taken at policy level to manage the impact of IP, notably the draft Access to Knowledge Treaty, and the new contribution which could be made using human rights and competition law. It then proposes further amendment of TRIPS (the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) as the most effective approach to securing a new place for IP and discusses the challenges which may be encountered.