LESI: COVID-19 IP waiver—a bad proposal

During the COVID-19 pandemic, calls to waive IP rights related to the disease have grown louder—for the development of vaccines and for the treatment of patients. There has been a push by India and South Africa urging the World Trade Organization (WTO) to issue a waiver as authorised under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) governing IP rights, to effect “prevention, containment and treatment” of COVID-19.