WTO Exempts Poorest Countries From Patent Requirements

As expected, a WTO body overseeing intellectual property rights has granted the poorest countries an exemption from enforcing pharmaceutical patent protections for the next 17 years.

The decision by the WTO’s Council of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights to grant least-developed countries an exemption through January 2033 had been widely anticipated after U.S. trade officials hammered out a deal with the exempt nations in late October.

The deal, which was closed during a council meeting Nov. 6, is intended to shield the 48 poorest nations — most in Africa and Asia — from onerous WTO rules governing enforcement of intellectual property rights for pharmaceutical companies.