However, it is less clear that the mailbox obligation under Article 70.8 of the TRIPS Agreement would also apply to those LDCs that, on 1 January 1995, did provide for pharmaceutical patent protection but later chose to suspend it. The prior user right is an exception to the rights conferred by a patent that is widely recognized in OECD country legislation,1 and it may be deemed consistent with the requirements of the TRIPS provision on patent exceptions under Article 30 (see Section 3.1, below).102 In domestic laws, prior use exceptions are usually provided without any right to remuneration for the patent holder. However, the prior use exception is limited to cases where the use of the respective substance occurred prior to the filing of the (mailbox) patent application.