The price of market access: patent give-aways in AUSTFA and since

Abstract

Government-backed restraints on trade sit uneasily within trade agreements, whether "free" or preferential. This paper reviews the patent and data exclusivity provisions of the AUSFTA to assess this component of the cost of increased US market access. It also traces other trade agreements which Australia has initiated or participated in, to see how demands for ever greater restraints on trade have developed. The patent and data exclusivity elements of these agreements are assessed against a benchmark of a balanced IP system which preferences competition and an evidence-base. The paper also considers the extent to which data are available which allow the true price of such agreements to be monitored.