217. The representative of Uganda, speaking on behalf of least-developed countries, thanked the Chairman and the Secretariat for their efforts and delegations for their understanding that had allowed the Council to reach a successful conclusion to the matter. While he would have preferred the waiver to cover also Article 70.8, he had not, in the spirit of compromise and cooperation, insisted on this. However, he expressed his hope that this would not bring least-developed countries an overbearing pressure to grant patents based on applications that were filed before the expiry of the transition period. The waiver had been granted to be co-existing and last for the period of the extension of the transition period agreed in Doha, namely until 1 January 2016. He did not expect the waiver to be terminated before the expiration of this transition period. He added that the review process in paragraph 2 of the draft waiver should not be unduly cumbersome or burdensome or in any way inconsistent with the administrative and financial capacities of least-developed countries and, therefore, it was understood that it would be without prejudice to an automatic application until the year 2016.
