Africa’s health check up

With a focus on Covid-19, Craig Kahn and Margaret Le Galle provide a brief overview of the continent's compulsory licensing and Bolar exemption situation

Craig Kahn and Margaret Le Galle - Spoor and Fisher

Article 1 of the Doha Declaration on the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement and Public Health, as read with Article 5(b), states, “We recognise the gravity of the public health problems afflicting many developing and least-developed countries, especially those resulting from... epidemics... each member has the right to grant compulsory licences and the freedom to determine the grounds upon which such licences are granted.”