The Doha Declaration

The November 2001 Doha Declaration could be considered one that had an effect on international intellectual property laws and helped stay some of the effects international patent protection policy.

In the sections dealing with TRIPS (Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) governments agreed to allow nation states to ignore worldwide patent protection for certain drugs if the drugs are important to protecting public health. This has been seen to go someway to allow governments like South Africa to cheaply clone expensive AIDS medicine for their population for a fraction of the cost it would cost them if they brought drugs from the actual patent holders.

External Links

• WTO explanation of the declaration [[1] (http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dohaexplained_e.htm#top)]