The Doha Declaration
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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 Paragraph 4 of the Doha Declaration on TRIPS (Trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights) and Public Health, governments agreed that:
- "the TRIPS Agreement does not and should not prevent Members from taking measures to protect public health. Accordingly, while reiterating our commitment to the TRIPS Agreement, we affirm that the Agreement can and should be interpreted and implemented in a manner supportive of WTO Members' right to protect public health and, in particular, to promote access to medicines for all. In this connection, we reaffirm the right of WTO Members to use, to the full, the provisions in the TRIPS Agreement, which provide flexibility for this purpose."
This and other provisions in the Declaration ensure that governments may issue compulsory licenses on patents for medicines, or take other steps to protect public health.