After months of stalling debate, World Trade Organization member states appear to have finally reached a consensus in the stalemate negotiations for a COVID-19 intellectual property waiver that is a watered-down version of the one proposed by India and South Africa 18 months ago.
The original waiver called for the temporary suspension of all intellectual property rights — including, patents, copyrights, trademarks, and trade secrets — that are necessary to reproduce vaccines, diagnostic tests, and therapies for COVID-19. International organizations including Oxfam and Doctors Without Borders supported the waiver in its original form to increase access to medicine and prevent a new variant from developing in areas of low immunity.
