1. Patent and IP rights
1.1. exclusive monopoly granted by a government to an inventor for a limited, pre-specified time
1.2. provides an enforceable legal right to prevent others from copying the invention.
1.3. Types of patents
1.3.1. Product Patent
1.3.1.1. ensures that the rights to the final product is protected
1.3.1.2. anyone other than the patent holder can be restrained from manufacturing it during a specified period,
1.3.1.2.1. even if they were to use a different process
1.3.2. Process Patent
1.3.2.1. enables any person other than the patent holder to manufacture the patented product
1.3.2.1.1. by modifying certain processes in the manufacturing exercise.
1.3.3. India's case
1.3.3.1. India moved from product patenting to process patenting in the 1970s
1.3.3.1.1. affect
1.3.3.2. switched to a product patents regime
1.3.3.2.1. due to obligations arising out of the TRIPS Agreement
1.3.3.2.2. by amending the Patents Act in 2005
2. Why in news
2.1. The United States announced support for waiving intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines,
2.1.1. for the decided waiver draft
2.1.1.1. All 164 WTO members must agree on the draft, and any one member can veto it.
3. Importance of Intellectual Property waiver for Covid-19 vaccines
3.1. Production scenario today
3.1.1. Most production of vaccines in Developed countries
3.1.2. In middle income countries
3.1.2.1. production of vaccines through
3.1.2.1.1. licensing
3.1.2.1.2. technology transfer agreements
3.2. Present problems in access to Covid-19 interventions
3.2.1. production capacity of countries
3.2.2. propensity of high-income countries to acquire most of the supplies
3.3. The IP waiver might open up space for production of Covid vaccines with emergency use authorisations (EUA)
3.3.1. such as those developed by Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Novavax, Johnson & Johnson and Bharat Biotech —
3.3.1.1. on a larger scale in middle-income countries.
4. Detterents for the waiver
4.1. opposition by the leading pharma companies
4.1.1. they believe it will undermine the response to the pandemic
4.1.2. Believe will undermine public confidence in public safety
4.1.2.1. question over capacity of production in middle income countries
4.1.2.2. Question of quality in middle income countries
4.1.3. Sharing wont speed up production
4.1.4. Wont be safe to move vaccines to a developing nation
5. Earlier proposals by India and South Africa
5.1. In 2020, India and South Africa
5.1.1. had asked the WTO
5.1.1.1. to waive certain conditions of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement
5.1.1.1.1. that could impede timely access to affordable medical products to combat Covid-19.
5.1.1.1.2. a waiver on the implementation, application and enforcement of four sections
5.1.1.2. The proposal had said that developing countries “especially”, may face institutional and legal difficulties when using flexibilities available in the TRIPS Agreement.
6. other roadblocks for scaling up production of Covid-19 vaccines
6.1. trade barriers
6.2. bottlenecks in supply chains
6.3. scarcity of raw materials and ingredients in the supply chain
6.3.1. major problem in scaling production
6.3.2. some countries had blocked export of raw materials
6.3.2.1. ex-USA
6.3.2.2. affect
6.3.2.2.1. delay in production of vaccines in many countries