Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Zimbabwe’s Pharmaceutical Industry

Abstract

African economies are developing and or transitioning in a global trade economy and with increasing need for considerations in public health and welfare, the desire for trade protection becomes increasingly important. One aspect of trade protection that has risen to the forefront is the protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) across national borders. In particular the protection of pharmaceutical intellectual property rights, which is the purpose of this paper, the protection of this right brings to the fore issues concerning counterfeiting; drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism and organized crime. The dependence of African economies on imported drugs makes it imperative that all intellectual property rights concerning drugs are protected and enforced. Of importance is the protection of patents and trademarks as they the most infringed rights. In the TRIPS agreement it is provided that they should be border control measures to enforce intellectual property rights. Customs administrations in developing countries are focused mainly on revenue collection as they depend on this income for their fiscus to the detriment of intellectual property rights and public health. This study analyses the enforcement of intellectual property rights in the pharmaceutical industry through various measures in Zimbabwe. This report gives an insight into the current situation from a global perspective and narrows down to Zimbabwe in terms of its laws and enforcement of intellectual property. This was done by carrying out a qualitative survey through the use of questionnaires and interviews, the qualitative survey targeted enforcement and regulatory agents as wells as manufacturer, hospitals, pharmacies and consumers. From the population surveyed it can be concluded that although there are laws in Zimbabwe to protect against counterfeiting and piracy, there is lack of implementation of the law. Also from the sample taken for analysis it has been surmised that the advancement in technology was among factors which have contributed to more counterfeit pharmaceutical products because with easy access to the internet and other technological tools people are able to alter and modify products or even brand them. Some respondents also mentioned that the factors which contribute to counterfeiting in African countries include unemployment, illiteracy, lack of awareness, lack of mechanisms to counterfeiting and very low levels of enforcement actions. In addition, enforcement measures against piracy and counterfeiting are often ineffective because of factors such as inadequate training and sensitization of law enforcement institutions, inadequate resources, scarcity of IP experts, the inactive and passive attitude of rights holders, as well as weak or no collaboration among stakeholders and a general lack of political will.