Entertainment
Lifestyle
Business
Sports
Health
Politics
Blockchain
Search
Facebook
Twitter
Google
LinkedIn
YouTube
Dribbble
South Asian Insider
Home
India
South Asia
International
Videos
Picture Gallery
Opinion and Editorial
Epaper
Latest Epaper
Old Issues
View Details
<< Back
Suspend international IP, patent obligations on Covid-19 vaccines
Coordinated State action at the global level that temporarily suspends the application of relevant international law to Covid-19 vaccines and drugs will be an important step in fighting the pandemic.
Although strenuous efforts are on across the globe to develop vaccines and drugs to fight Covid-19, the issue of their equitable access remains a major challenge. A formidable barrier to ensuring timely access to vaccines and drugs could be patents or other intellectual property (IP) rights. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), in a 2017 report, documents how patents have hindered the introduction of affordable vaccines in developing countries. The rights of the inventor should be protected through IP laws. Arguably, such protection spurs innovation, overcoming the social costs imposed on the public through limited accessibility of the product. However, in a world living through the worst pandemic in a century, there is a strong case for the collective interests of humanity to trump the individual interests of the inventor.
India's recent proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO), jointly with South Africa, asking for a temporary waiver of the application of certain provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement on Covid-19 vaccines and drugs must be seen in this light. If the waiver is granted, WTO member- countries will not be under obligation, for a temporary period, to either grant or enforce patents and other IP-related rights to Covid-19 drugs, vaccines,ventilators, masks and other related items. This will help them devise plans for vaccinating their populations without worrying about legal suits. While many developing countries have endorsed India's proposal, countries such as the United States have opposed the move.
Articles IX.3 and IX.4 of the WTO agreement empowers the ministerial conference to grant such a waiver. The ministerial conference should state the exceptional circumstances justifying the decision, the terms and conditions governing the working of the waiver, and the date on which the waiver shall end. Thus, the WTO can temporarily suspend the application of the IP-related provisions for a certain period to address the issue of accessibility of vaccines and drugs. There are several instances where WTO has adopted such waivers in the past.
Arguably, there is no need to suspend the application of the TRIPS agreement because countries can make use of its flexibilities such as the issuance of compulsory licences. But, working out of some of these flexibilities involves onerous procedural requirements.
ENTERTAINMENT
LATEST UPDATES
A far-right rally left Sweden burning. What sparked off the protests?
The protests started after the leader of the anti immigration and anti-Islam group Stram Kurs, the Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan announced ...
UK PM Johnson facing new ‘partygate’ claims ahead of India visit
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing new allegations on Monday around “partygate”, the scandal surrounding government officials breaching co...
Lack of traceability of weapons supplied to Ukraine could be a concern for US
With no American or Nato troops on the ground, the Joe Biden-led US administration has no way of knowing how the arms it is supplying to Ukraine are b...
What is XE variant of corona virus, and why you need not worry about it-at least for now
XE variant of coronavirus: Suspected to have infected a patient in Mumbai, it is a sub variant of Omicron. So far, there is no indication that it is m...
US sanctions Russia’s Sberbank, Putin’s kids, bans investment US sanctions Russia’s Sberbank, Putin’s kids, bans investment
The U.S. Justice Department on Wednesday also announced new enforcement actions to disrupt and prosecute criminal Russian activity The United States ...
Jill Biden Praises Indian-American Entrepreneur On Silicon Valley Visit
The First Lady, during a closed-door meeting with some of the top Democratic Party leaders in Silicon Valley, mentioned the name of Indian-American en...
Russia-Ukraine war
India may rank among worst hit emerging economies, say analysts The oil price spike is also expected to pressure the government to lower fuel levie...
Russia-Ukraine war
India may rank among worst hit emerging economies, say analysts The oil price spike is also expected to pressure the government to lower fuel levie...
Assembly election 2022 Result
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has scored big in the assembly elections, winning four out of five states with a comfortable majority except goa and Aam ...
Two Indian-Origin Men Charged For Breaking Singapore's Covid Rules
Singapore: Two Indian-origin men, were among a group of six persons, charged by a Singaporean court on Tuesday for breaching COVID-19 safety regulatio...
Advertisements