TRIPS AGREEMENT

Subject: International Agreements

Context: India, others push for TRIPS waiver scope beyond Covid vaccine at WTO

Concept:

India is among 62 World Trade Organization (WTO) members that are pushing this draft, which limits the waiver period to three years, with a provision to review the duration.
However, the proposal continues to push for a waiver on a wider segment of products as opposed to just Covid-19 vaccines — products that the US and the European Union have agreed to consider for an intellectual property rights waiver during the ongoing pandemic.

TRIPS

TRIPS is an international agreement administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which sets down minimum standards for many forms of intellectual property (IP) regulations as applied to the nationals of other WTO Members.
It was negotiated at the end of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1994.
TRIPS requires WTO members to provide copyright rights, covering content producers including performers, producers of sound recordings and broadcasting organizations; geographical indications, including appellations of origin; industrial designs; integrated circuit layout-designs; patents; new plant varieties; trademarks; trade dress; and undisclosed or confidential information.
The agreement also specifies enforcement procedures, remedies, and dispute resolution procedures.