Call for TRIPs concessions

Published: 21-Nov-2001


Developing countries have called for the WTO's Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) to be interpreted as allowing their governments to take any steps 'to protect public health', including the authorisation of generic production of medicines under patent. The African Group, +18, released a paper suggesting that developing countries should be able to use parallel imports and issue compulsory production licences in emergencies.

But countries including the EU and Hong Kong said this claim was too sweeping, and that the TRIPs agreement insists that common intellectual property standards must be adhered to, even in emergencies.

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