REMINDER: WEBINAR - How do patents monopolies affect access COVID-19 to health products - 19 June 2020

As you already know, the Fix The Patent Laws Campaign, a Coalition of about 40 organisations including Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) and Section 27 has been advocating for the South African government to reform outdated patent laws so that access to medicines is not unnecessarily limited. To date, this process is still hanging in the balance. There are a number of legal safeguards (TRIPS flexibilities) available in international law that have not yet been written into South Africa’s national laws. Section 27 of the Constitution of South Africa obligates the state to implement such law reforms.  

With such a current patent system in SA, access to health products is then threatened; this will remain to be the case for COVID-9 health products if nothing changes. This pandemic presents a unique opportunity to re-emphasise the urgent need for patent law reform in South Africa to ensure affordable and equitable access to health products.

We have often relied on media (local, regional and international) as Fix the Patent Laws coalition to echo our advocacy messages for influence and awareness.  We are therefore inviting you to join our media engagement where a range of experts will delve into the complexity of patent systems and how that relates to the current Covid19 crisis.

Some of the topics include but not limited to the following: basics on patents (what are these and their impact?), Access in the time of COVID-19, The global picture on Intellectual Property and COVID-19 and IP reform in South Africa and where we are among others.   

Please see attached the invite and programme for more information and registration details.