A First Look at Canada-Europe Free Trade Draft on Patent Term
Restoration and Other Exclusivities
Canada and Europe announced in
October 2013, an agreement in principle on a Comprehensive Economic
and Trade Agreement ("CETA"). Its most significant aspect
was the potential increase of some drug patent terms by up to two
years. An August 5, 2014 draft of the agreement has been
leaked ("CETA Consolidated Text"). The Canadian
government has refused to authenticate this as a real draft. This
article focuses on pharmaceutical IP, which is primarily covered in
Article 9 of Chapter 22 in the draft text.
Background on CETA
CETA was the product of several
years of negotiations. It is a wide-ranging trade agreement
covering diverse topics such as foreign ownership and investments,
access to public procurement contracts, automobiles, food (e.g.
beef and dairy products) and agriculture. Pharmaceuticals were also
a prominent part of the discussion. The agreement was
