President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has decided to seek parliamentary consideration for the Maldives' acceptance of the World Trade Organisation (WTO)’s Protocol Amending the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Prior to the decision, President Solih discussed the matter with his Cabinet on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.
The WTO's TRIPS Agreement establishes a minimum level of protection that WTO Members are required to provide for the intellectual property of other Members. The Protocol Amending the TRIPS Agreement is the first amendment to the agreement that identifies options open for developing and least-developed countries to address public health needs, also termed "flexibilities."
The amendment makes permanent a decision on patents and public health. It allows countries that cannot produce generic drugs to acquire medicines from third country producers under "compulsory licensing" arrangements. It also allows exporting countries to grant compulsory licences to generic suppliers exclusively for the manufacturing and exporting of essential medicines to countries that lack manufacturing capacity.
