Addressing vaccine inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic: the TRIPS intellectual property waiver proposal and beyond

Thambisetty, Sivaramjani ORCID: 0000-0003-0252-8194, McMahon, Aisling, McDonagh, Luke ORCID: 0000-0003-2085-5404, Yoon Kang, Hyo and Dutfield, Graham (2022) Addressing vaccine inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic: the TRIPS intellectual property waiver proposal and beyond. Cambridge Law Journal, 81 (2). 384 - 416. ISSN 0008-1973

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Abstract

This article examines global vaccine inequity during the COVID-19 pandemic. We critique intellectual property (IP) law under the 1994 WTO TRIPS Agreement, and specifically, the role that IP has played in enabling the inequities of production, distribution and pricing in the COVID-19 vaccine context. Given the failure of international response mechanisms, including COVAX and C-TAP, to address vaccine inequity, we argue the TRIPS waiver proposal should be viewed as offering a necessary and proportionate legal measure for clearing IP barriers that cannot be achieved by existing TRIPS flexibilities. Finally, we reflect on the waiver debate in the wider context of TRIPS and the need to boost global pandemic preparedness.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-...
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Author(s).
Divisions:	Law
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology K Law > K Law (General)
Date Deposited:	22 Feb 2022 13:15
Last Modified:	12 Dec 2024 02:52
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/113802

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