The World Trade Organization has finally adopted the so-called “TRIPS waiver” that will make it easier for developing countries to manufacture and export COVID-19 vaccines under a compulsory licence, ie, without the consent of the owner of the intellectual property.
WTO Decision On Access To COVID-19 Vaccines: A Waiver In Name Only?
Agreement Could Be Extended To Medicines And Diagnostics In Six Months
R&D-based companies have denounced what they see as a dangerous and unjustified attack on intellectual property after the World Trade Organization’s ministerial conference finally adopted a decision on an IP waiver for COVID-19 vaccines. NGOs, by contrast, say the decision amounts to little more than a limited exception to existing rules on the compulsory licensing of medicines.
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