China has overhauled its intellectual property laws to allow Beijing to issue compulsory licenses to eligible companies to produce generic versions of patented drugs during state emergencies, or unusual circumstances, or in the interests of the public.
For "reasons of public health", eligible drug makers can also ask to export these medicines to other countries, including members of the WTO.
According to Reuters, “All eyes are now trained on how China battles it out with big foreign drug exporters, especially from 2013 when the Geneva-based Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria will no longer give grants to China to fight HIV.”
It seems that IP doesn't permeate the Great Wall. It's time for the Middle Kingdom to seek some middle ground.
