India News | Hopeful for Early Decision on TRIPS Waiver Proposal at WTO: Comm Secy
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. India on Friday expressed hope for an early decision in the WTO on a proposal of India and South Africa for a temporary waiver of certain intellectual property rights provisions in the TRIPS agreement to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
New Delhi, May 14 (PTI) India on Friday expressed hope for an early decision in the WTO on a proposal of India and South Africa for a temporary waiver of certain intellectual property rights provisions in the TRIPS agreement to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
In October 2020, India and South Africa submitted a proposal suggesting a waiver for all World Trade Organization (WTO) members on the implementation of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of COVID-19.
The agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights or TRIPS came into effect in January 1995. It is a multilateral agreement on intellectual property (IP) rights such as copyright, industrial designs, patents and protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets.
Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan said the proposal had received support from several countries.
"I am hopeful that in an early timeframe, some decision will be reached at the WTO...I am hopeful that an early outcome will be achieved on this," he told reporters.
The move would help in scaling up the production of vaccines and other essential products to deal with the coronavirus, he added.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)