Background
ITPC was birthed in 2003 in Cape Town, South Africa, by a committed group of 125 HIV activists from 65 countries who refused to accept a world in which people living with HIV were denied access to life-saving medicine. As ITPC grew into a Global Activist Network (GAN) advocating for the needs of communities affected by HIV and TB, it also laid the groundwork for community-driven work extending beyond singular diseases and addressing the systemic issues affecting people’s health and quality of life— exposing and resisting entrenched global power dynamics that consistently prioritize privilege and profit over the right to health and dignity. Today, we celebrate 20 years, highlighting progress in the fight for equitable access and affordability to treatment, amplifying community power, and building resilience within communities.
The Solidarity Project aims to improve public health outcomes (incidence, prevalence, and reductions in morbidity and mortality) by improving the affordability of key patented health products for HIV, tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, cervical cancer, and any public health emergencies in 24 LMICs. The Solidarity Project, which complements other access strategies such as voluntary licenses, aims to address IP barriers in 24 LMICs, by working within the framework of national laws and international agreements such as the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to facilitate price reductions through market entry of key generic and biosimilar products (GBPs).
Under ITPC’s global coordination of the project, technical assistance shall continue to be provided to the hubs, country partners and ITPC to support country partners work on implementation of TRIPS flexibilities and removal/mitigation of TRIPS-plus provisions.
Country-specific Background
Since 2022, the Bill on the Third Amendment to Law No. 13 of 2016 concerning Patents has been included in the National Legislation Program (Prolegnas). The amendment process was prompted, among other factors, by changes to several articles in Law No. 11 of 2020 concerning Job Creation.
On September 30, 2024, the new Patent Bill was passed by the House of Representatives (DPR) during a plenary meeting, just one day before the inauguration of new DPR members for the 2024–2029 period. The Patent Bill was subsequently enacted as Law No. 65 of 2024 concerning the Third Amendment to Law No. 13 of 2016 on Patents.
The amendment process has drawn attention from patient groups, including the Indonesian AIDS Coalition (IAC), particularly regarding the issue of access to medicines. Medicines, as products, are intrinsically linked to intellectual property protection, especially patents, which significantly impact public access.
Notably, several key concerns have emerged:
• Lack of transparency: The amendment process lacked transparency, with information and documents related to the Bill being difficult to access. Additionally, there was almost no civil society involvement, as evidenced by repeated ignored requests for hearings or public consultations (RDPU) from patient groups.
• Deletion of Article 4(f) in the new Patent Law: In the previous Patent Law (Law No. 13 of 2016), Article 4(f) served as a public health safeguard, protecting Indonesia from patent evergreening through low-quality patent applications aimed at perpetuating monopolies by large pharmaceutical companies. The removal of this article in Law No. 65 of 2024 raises concerns about the potential for increased monopolization through secondary use claims or minor modifications, which could keep medicine prices high.
In response to these issues, IAC, in collaboration with its partners, intends to file a judicial review of Law No. 65 of 2024 to the Constitutional Court.
Consultant Scope of Work
In light of recent adoption of the new Patent Law (Law 65 of 2024), which threatens public access to affordable medicines, ITPC is seeking a Legal Consultant based in Indonesia to:
● Initiating litigation measures by filing a judicial review of Law No. 65 of 2024 concerning the Third Amendment to Law No. 13 of 2016 concerning Patents to the Constitutional Court. This activity includes, but is not limited to:
o Consolidating patient groups, particularly the Coalition for Affordable Medicines (Koalisi Obat Murah or KOM), as co-plaintiffs.
o Facilitating expert meetings.
o Drafting the judicial review application.
o Representing IAC and partners at court hearings.
o Preparing a draft of the final conclusions.
● Providing technical assistance and legal advice upon request.
Duration of Consultancy
1 March 2025 to 31 May 2025
Deliverables:
● Draft of the judicial review application, with revisions as necessary.
● Letter of hearings request
● Notice of hearing from court
Education & Experience Requirements
● Individual Indonesian citizens or legal entities.
● For legal entities, possession of a Taxpayer Identification Number (NPWP) and Articles of Association is required.
● Preference will be given to individuals holding a Bachelor of Laws degree.
● Must possess an advocate’s license.
● Demonstrated experience in filing cases with the Constitutional Court, particularly judicial reviews.
● Strong knowledge of intellectual property, patents, patent law, and legal reform.
● Excellent communication skills and advanced negotiation abilities.
Compensation shall be provided in partial payments on a monthly basis for work completed, satisfactory to ITPC’s quality of service for not more than 90 days. Payment will be made within 30 days upon delivery of the monthly invoice.
How to apply
To Apply:
Please send a Proposal that should consist of at least the following documents/information:
(i) CV or autobiography, describing previous relevant experience;
(ii) Daily rate in USD in separate file attachment called “Financial Proposal” or in the body of email.
to [email protected] with the subject line “Legal Consultant – Application: Consultant Name” by 7 February 2025 23:59 SAST.