President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, signed a law on the ratification of the Protocol Amending the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights on May 20.
The Protocol, adopted on December 6, 2005 in Geneva and enforced on January 23, 2017, has been ratified by 111 out of 164 member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO) to date.
This Protocol grants the right to WTO member countries to produce patented pharmaceuticals under compulsory licenses for export without the permission of the patent holder. It specifies the conditions for issuing compulsory licenses.
Key points of the Protocol include the production of pharmaceuticals under a compulsory license for export being limited to the needs of the specific importing country. It prohibits re-export or sale of pharmaceuticals to third countries.
