http://www.pharmatimes.com/WorldNews/article.aspx?id=15481
This news item was posted on Afro IP. The article describes how Dutch customs:
“seized the shipment, made by Indian firm Aurobindo, en-route to Nigeria, at Schipol airport in November under EC legislation designed to protect intellectual property rights.”
The shipment it turns out was HIV medication destined for Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Trade Organisation has, according the article, commented that this is “over-zealous” enforcement of EC red tape and the article goes on to say:
“[campaign groups] are calling on the EC to revise regulation No 1383/2003 of July 2003, which they say allows for the seizure of medical shipments on the basis they might be infringing intellectual property rights or be counterfeit. Rohit Malpani of Oxfam International added that the EC law failed to respect the WTO’s Doha Declaration on TRIPS and Public Health, which says that intellectual property rules should not interfere with the ability of developing countries to protect and promote public health.”
This isn’t the only criticism of the Dutch authorities regarding their enforcement actions. Last month I blogged about an IP law enforcement case involving EU, TRIPS and generic drug in transit in the Netherlands from India and bound for Brazil. Again, the Afro-IP blog took this story up linking to this site http://ictsd.net/i/news/bridgesweekly/42823 I found some of the details in this article a little confusing but there was a good write-up from IP-watch on the matter last month, including links to statements from the two countries concerned.
the CAS-IP blog 