Such measures would nowadays be inconsistent with the TRIPS national treatment obligation, which requires Members to treat foreign IP right holders no less favourably than domestic right holders (Article 3, TRIPS). As another example, Switzerland, today a dedicated supporter of effective IP protection, prohibited patents between 1802 and 1888, due to the fact that free access to new technologies was thought to be more beneficial to its gradually developing industry than exclusive rights. As far as pharmaceutical products are concerned, Switzerland did not introduce patent protection until 1977.