India-South Africa IPR waiver proposal gets support of about 90 WTO members
February 24, 2021
TRIPS council unlikely to suspend discussion but ask General Council for more time India and South Africa’s proposal for temporary waiver of intellectual property rights provisions during the Covid-19 period has now got the support of majority of WTO members, as evident at the recent TRIPS Council meeting. This has ensured that the proposal will not be set aside and that more efforts are made to move towards a consensus on the matter.
“There are about 90 members now supporting the India-South Africa TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) waiver proposal. There are 57 co-sponsors, and the proposal is supported from the floor by several delegations including Jamaica on behalf of the ACP Group (African, Caribbean and Pacific Group - 62 members), Afghanistan, Argentina, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Honduras, Cuba, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Indonesia, Tunisia,
A waiver on some intellectual property rules at the WTO for COVID-19 vaccines would ensure more equitable access, but wouldn t solve all the problems facing developing countries.