The TRIPS waiver refers to a decision adopted at the World Trade Organization's 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) in June 2022 that allows eligible WTO members to authorize the use of patented subject matter required for the production and supply of COVID-19 vaccines without the right holder's consent, subject to specified conditions. It modifies, for a limited time, obligations under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), particularly provisions on compulsory licensing in Article 31 and the export limitation in Article 31(f).
The waiver originated in an October 2020 proposal by India and South Africa seeking a much broader suspension of TRIPS obligations covering copyrights, industrial designs, patents, and trade secrets in relation to the prevention, containment, or treatment of COVID-19. Negotiations were protracted, with the European Union, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and initially the United States opposing a broad waiver. The final MC12 text was significantly narrower than the original proposal: it focuses on patents for vaccines, streamlines compulsory licensing procedures, and permits export of vaccines produced under such licenses to other eligible members. Developing countries that exported more than 10% of world COVID-19 vaccine doses in 2021 (effectively China, which made a unilateral statement declining to use the flexibility) are not considered eligible.
The decision set a five-year duration and instructed the TRIPS Council to decide within six months whether to extend coverage to COVID-19 diagnostics and therapeutics. That extension decision was repeatedly postponed and, as of the 13th Ministerial Conference in early 2024, members had not reached consensus.
Civil society groups including Médecins Sans Frontières and Oxfam criticized the final text as too narrow and too late. Pharmaceutical industry associations, including the IFPMA, argued voluntary licensing and COVAX were already addressing supply gaps. The waiver is frequently cited in debates over pandemic preparedness, the WHO Pandemic Agreement negotiations, and broader access-to-medicines policy.
Example
In June 2022, WTO members at MC12 in Geneva adopted the TRIPS waiver decision after roughly 20 months of negotiations launched by an India–South Africa proposal in October 2020.
Frequently asked questions
No. The June 2022 decision covered only COVID-19 vaccines. Members were tasked with deciding on extension to therapeutics and diagnostics within six months, but consensus has not been reached.
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