Read Article More than 3 million people have died of COVID-19. Countless others have become ill, and the numbers continue to rise. Many public health experts predict that it will take anywhere between a year and three years to ensure truly global vaccine access. Tragically, those last in line overwhelmingly live in the most impoverished communities and countries. A major reason for the delay in rolling out vaccinations is that rules protecting intellectual property are slowing production. Vaccines such as those for the coronavirus typically require around 200 individual components, most of which are patented by various corporations. Globally, these patents and other intellectual property concerns fall under the protection of “TRIPS” — the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights — which is overseen by the World Trade Organization (WTO).