ABSTRACT
This chapter seeks to ascertain whether it is consistent with international intellectual property law to manufacture and export a product protected by a patent or a supplementary protection certificate to importing countries where the invention is off patent. It discusses the features of patent exceptions, the diversity of exceptions in comparative patent law and the general rule relating to patent exceptions under the three-step test embodied in Article 30 of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. The general rule relating to patent exceptions is found in the TRIPS Agreement, where patent exceptions are regulated by importing into patent law the three-step test developed in the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The economic exploitation of products made under the new exception for manufacture for export takes place in foreign markets, where the invention is off patent.
