LDCs get more time for TRIPS compliance

So-called ‘least-developed countries’ (LDCs) will have at least eight more years to achieve full compliance with the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, after the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreed to an extension.

The decision came last week at the meeting of the WTO’s TRIPS council, and follows intensive lobbying by LDC delegates.

The exemptions from TRIPS compliance allow LDCs to choose whether to protect trademarks, patents, copyright, industrial designs and geographical indications, though if they do choose to protect any or all of these rights, they oblige to apply provisions on non-discrimination.

LDCs were initially granted 10 years to comply with TRIPS, following its adoption in 1995. That period was extended to 2013 when it expired. There are currently 34 LDCs recognised by the WTO, including Bangladesh, Haiti and Nepal.

“The agreement reached by members makes very clear that we can come together and get things done,” said WTO director-general Pascal Lamy.

Nepal, which coordinates LDCs at the WTO, welcomed the extension, but other, developing countries, such as India and Brazil, expressed reservations that there had not been broader participation in the talks.

The decision does not stop LDCs seeking a further extension of the exemptions in the future.

Humanitarian organisation Medicins Sans Frontieres criticised the agreement, saying that the extension should not have been time-limited. “By refusing to grant them a longer and more complete extension, the US and EU are deliberately ignoring the health challenges faced by LDCs,” it said in a statement.

The European Union welcomed the decision. “From the outset of discussions, the European Union has recognised the importance of flexibility for the least-developed countries and supported an extension to the transition period,” it said in a statement.

Any country that graduates from its LDC status before 2021 will no longer be able to benefit from the exemption.