A short thread for those who want to understand just why twitter (well, the trade part of it) is going crazy surrounding an "IP waiver" for covid vaccines (thread)
In an age long past intellectual property - let's limit ourselves to patents - were were not part of world trade law. The rules of international IP were negotiated in the World Intellectual Property Organization alone.
Now the IP treaties did not really harmonize IP law. They made it a bit simpler to get protection in several countries. And the world was - oversimplifying a LOT here - largely split: the Global North protected IP, the Global South did not to such an extent. Why?
For this you have to know that to this day patents are a national thing. A US patent is ONLY valid in the US. The Global South basically said: if we grant patents, we will grant them to YOUR companies. It's a wealth transfer from South to North. Why should we do that?
Particularly the US felt this was unfair. They felt that they financed new developments and others ripped them of. And in the late 80s the US took action - in the trade area and against Brazil for a lack of pharma patent protection.
The story ended with IP protection being quasi-harmonized in the TRIPS Agreement as part of the World Trade Organization. And ever since then the US was reliably on the side of big pharma when it come to IP.
And yes - the EU, the UK and Japan were, too. But the US was in the lead. Over the years the intellectual emphasis changed. Cutting edge profs like @marklemley took a more nuanced, critical position of IP. But for a long time that remained somewhat academic.
In the global arena HIV patents were the backdrop of the first fight. They saw young student activists like @akapczynski rise to superstars of critical IP & health thinking. But they did not change the US stance.
There was a short moment where the US blinked: the anthrax scare. The US threatened a compulsory license for the one available medicine to drive down prices. But if I remember correctly it then stated that did not really happen.
So many of us dismissed rumors that USTR was thinking about the TRIPS waiver. "Yeah sure". We thought. We were wrong, as @USTradeRep showed today. And yes. Maybe this is a negotiation stance to exert pressure for more voluntary action. But even that is a sea change.
At this point I do, of course, have to point out: if you want to read more about this debate... well there's this global.oup.com/academic/produ…
... I know what you're thinking: SHORT?
But heck. I'm not just an academic but also German. You say it's a long thread, for me this is barely the beginning of a sentence...

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More from @hhesterm

6 May
Some of the news can be really depressing. So allow me to do a short thread of aid for India. I'll start with the Netherlands, simply because this tweet in my timeline inspired me to do this.
The US is delivering a lot of medical aid to India
Read 4 tweets
4 May
UK-India and EU competences in brief: the UK could have done the 1 billion in announced deals. It could not have done an MOU including plans for a future FTA.
Why part 1? The announced 1 billion in deals were commercial stuff. Private deals. Here's France announcing deals on the occasion of a Macron visit. lexpress.fr/actualite/mond…
Why part 2? The MoU includes some planning for an FTA. That's an exclusive EU competence and accordingly the UK could not have done it.
Read 4 tweets
3 May
Here’s some advice for UK pundits who want to write on the German constitutional court: get in touch with someone trained in German constitutional law. /thread
I agree with several of the statements in this column. There are some mistakes, however. For example the second senate is not in charge of EU-related rulings in general. The famous right to be forgotten decisions were handed down down by the 1st senate.
And of course, there are loads of reasons that allow you to coherently agree with the decision on climate change but to disagree with the PSPP decision. In constitutional law terms they are quite diffferent.
Read 7 tweets
1 May
To students: identifying your sources - and knowing what information is trustworthy - is vital in the Internet environment. Mistakes happen particularly if you write about foreign jurisdictions. And they can happen to the best of us. /1
Take this item by the usually excellent @rosalindenglish - it misses all the relevant points why the Weimar judge is under investigation. How can this happen? Because the source of the news item is a conspiracy theory website ukhumanrightsblog.com/2021/04/28/ger…
Amongst the news items it carries: How PCR tests can work like asbestos or how covid vaccines destroy your immune system. So.... not the type of website that will reliable report about a judgment on covid stuff to say the least.
Read 7 tweets
28 Apr
A short thread on why the comments about MEPs being yes-men (as they overwhelmingly voted for the TCA) are miles off the mark. Or kilometres (thread)
Approval of the TCA puts MPs and MEPs in a tough spot. Brexit means there’ll be barriers to trade. A no-deal Brexit implies more barriers. More jobs lost. More economic harm. What are the choices for the Parliamentarians?
Realistically on the large vote: kill the TCA or let it live. Be responsible for more economic harm or just the one we have now. That’s not really ... optimal? So why the delay in the first place?
Read 7 tweets
27 Apr
UK TCA Treaty Scrutiny edition. One of the issues that has been worrying those of us working on the role of parliament for treaties is the role of parliament AFTER treaties are signed. Let me explain (thread)
Some time in the distant past we have discussed the role of parliaments in treaty-making. Each country has its procedures in this regard uktradeforum.net/2017/11/21/par…
The EP gets a consent vote for some agreements (Art. 218(6) TFEU). The German Parliament gets a vote on some of them under Art. 59 GG, the French under Art. 53 of the Constitution. The UK route is a bit different...
Read 10 tweets

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