Vaccine candidates for Covid-19 are at the forefront of the
news. A proposal by India and South Africa for the World Trade
Organization (WTO) to suspend the implementation, application, and
enforcement of relevant provisions under the Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for the COVID-19 vaccine is
now creating an IP dispute. India and South Africa have asked the
WTO to waive certain TRIPS provisions to ensure access to Covid-19
medicines without IP restrictions. In October, the WTO began
discussing the issue.
A number of developed countries have disputed the proposals and
counter proposals which have been made for the licensing of patents
to take place. The Covid-19 Technology Access Pool (CTAP) system
has been proposed. The WHO has launched its CTAP, inviting
countries to share data, knowledge, and intellectual property on
vital life-saving health products in the fight against the
coronavirus. However, India has pointed out in the WTO that
