Committee: Legal CommitteeTopic Area B: International Medical PatentingCountry: Republic of PortugalSchool: Marian Central Catholic High SchoolDelegates: Mr. Jayson Wieczorek and Ms. Diana Slater

The Republic of Portugal has been on the back end of the commercial medical industry for many decades. Its relatively small size and somewhat fragile infrastructure have not allowed it to develop many medical products. Portugal joined the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in 19751. On December 12th, 2011, The Republic of Portugal amended decree-law No. 176/2006 which made any dispute over reference medicines, generic medicines, and the prices of medicines settled by mandatory arbitration. It also stated that any party in a dispute has 30 days to present its case with option for an extension. One of Portugal’s closest allies, Great Britain, responded to the act with concern over the short presentation time. It responded by proposing that Portugal extend the case time period to 1-3 years so that both parties can gather sufficient evidence and to ensure that competent judges are staffed on the court.2With the recent Ebola outbreak, Portugal feels as though medical patenting rights will soon take the stage as the most important legal issue of the current day. Portugal fully supported Brazil in 2007 when the government bypassed the patent rights of the United States based company “Merrick &Co.” in order to offer the AIDS drug it was selling at a more inexpensive price. Brazilian law under the Word Trade Organization established that patent rights could be broken in an emergency medical situation4. It is important, then, to ensure that large medical companies in well-developed countries do not abuse their patent rights by increasing prices of their drug(s).

The Republic of Portugal sees patent right infringement as a criminal offense and wishes to ensure that patent rights are acknowledged everywhere.3It is most committed to the protection of intellectual patent rights, seeing as Portugal doesn’t have the stability to produce many commercial products. However, with Portugal’s healthcare being ranked 12th in the world as of 2000, Portugal is certainly committed to ensuring medical availability to all people. Portugal acknowledges that a violation of patent rights would be allowable in certain situations, such as if thousands of people lives were in danger. Such violation, Portugal believes, would benefit smaller countries not financially capable of researching, developing, and producing a vaccine, medicine, device, etc. by themselves. The Republic of Portugal sees the patent rights of a medical inventor important, but does believe that they can be put aside provided that an emergency medical situation arises in one country.

The Republic of Portugal wishes to see the establishment of loose international patent laws. Such laws would allow countries that do not have a strong infrastructure, like Portugal to be able to break patent laws with minimal consequences. However, the Republic of Portugal does believe that such infringement be allowed in the case of dire emergency in which thousands of lives are at stake. Portugal believes that the instatement of loose laws would not only allow for developing on unstable countries to acquire cheaper drugs, but would also benefit the mass of the population. Portugal also encourages any nations with strict patent laws to revise them in order to benefit the developing world. Portugal is committed to developing relations among countries, especially those who are Portuguese-speaking3, and believes that only through cooperation and understanding can the protection patent rights and allowance of infringement be solved.

1. World Intellectual Property Organization. Portugal. Retrieved December 15, 2014, from http://www.wipo.int/members/en/details.jsp?country_id=142

2. England, D. (2012, July 18). Enforcement of IP rights-Portuguese Law 62/2011: Patent infringement and dispute resolution on medicines. Retrieved December 15, 2014, from ipfederation.com

3. Macedo, P. Minister of Health. Retrieved December 14, 2014, from http://www.portugal.gov.pt/en/the-ministries/ministry-of-health/about-this-ministry.aspx

4. Associated Press. (2007, May 4). Brazil to break Merck AIDS drug patent. Retrieved December 15, 2014, from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/18490388/ns/health-aids/t/brazil-break-merck-aids-drug-patent/#.VKm6t77nbVg