The TRIPS Council Covid Waiver Proposal: Where North does not meet South?
On the 2nd of October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to waive IP rights for Covid-19 products under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). This move would allow WTO member countries to circumvent patent, copyright, industrial design and undisclosed information rights normally associated with such products. According to its proponents, the waiver would ensure that IPRs ‘do not create barriers to the timely access to affordable medical products including vaccines and medicines or to scaling-up of research, development, manufacturing and supply of medical products essential to combat COVID-19’. However such a waiver would constitute an unprecedented move, particularly when there are concerns that it might not be an effective solution to the inaccessibility of these products. In this seminar, Van Anh Le and Katarina Foss-Solbrekk will draw on their recent research to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of this radical proposal.
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Each year the OIPRC hosts a number of leading academics from around the world as part of its Invited Speaker Series. These events typically run from 5:15-6:45pm on Thursday evenings in The Dorfman Centre at St. Peter’s College; if the venue or time is different, it will be noted on the Events calendar.
The Speaker Series consists of a presentation of about 45 minutes, followed by a Q&A session with the assembled group of academic staff, students (both undergraduate and graduate), researchers, and interested members of the public. Discussion is informal and includes participants from several disciplines, with a wide range of prior knowledge.
Convenors: Robert Burrell, Dev Gangjee and Robert Pitkethly
Refreshments and snacks are served at the conclusion of the discussion. All are welcome.
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