intellectual property rights - The African Mirror

Jun

2021

France, SA to increase vaccines access

FRANCE has decided to work with South Africa to help African countries to get access to vaccines, French President Emmanuel Macron told a news conference on Thursday ahead of a G7 summit. Macron also said that having access to vaccines should not be blocked by disputes over intellectual property rights.

Jun

2021

By The African Mirror

Vaccine supply talks start

COVID-19

WORLD Trade Organization members agreed on Wednesday to start formal negotiations on a plan to boost COVID-19 vaccine supply to developing countries, but face rival proposals - one with and one without a waiver of intellectual property rights. South Africa and India, backed by many emerging nations, have been pushing for eight months for a temporary waiver of IP rights on vaccines and other treatments. This could allow local manufacturers to produce the shots, something the proponents say is essential to redress "staggering" inequity of supply. Developed nations, many home to large pharmaceutical companies, have resisted, arguing that a waiver…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

US, SA discuss vaccine waiver

COVID-19

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai yesterday expressed her support for a waiver of intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines in a call with South African Trade Minister Ebrahim Patel, one of the initial proponents of the waiver at the World Trade Organization. USTR said in a statement after the call that Tai "acknowledged the WTO members who have expressed support for negotiations and welcomed an update from Minister Patel about efforts to revise and resubmit South Africa's waiver proposal." Tai earlier on Thursday told U.S. lawmakers the vaccine IP waiver negotiations can help the embattled WTO to "show its relevance…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope backs vaccines rights waiver

COVID-19

POPE Francis yesterday came out in support of waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines, backing a proposal by U.S. President Joe Biden that has been rebuffed by some European nations, including Germany. In a speech to a global fundraising concert to promote fair access to vaccines, the pope said the world was infected with the "virus of individualism". "A variant of this virus is closed nationalism, which prevents, for example, an internationalism of vaccines," he said in the pre-recorded video message. "Another variant is when we put the laws of the market or of intellectual market or intellectual property…

May

2021

By The African Mirror

WTO vaccine waiver could take months to negotiate, faces opposition – experts

COVID-19

DAVID LAWDER WORLD Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations on a waiver of intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines could take months - provided they can overcome significant opposition from some member countries, trade experts say. The talks also are likely to focus on a waiver that is significantly narrower in scope and shorter in duration than the one initially proposed by India and South Africa last October. Prior to U.S. President Joe Biden's decision on Wednesday to back talks for a vaccine waiver, the two countries confirmed their intention to draft a new proposal after seven months of opposition. WTO Director…

Feb

2021

By The African Mirror

“Waive intellectual property rights on drugs”

COVID-19

THE African Union is backing calls for drugmakers to waive some intellectual property rights on COVID-19 medicines and vaccines to speed up their rollout to poor countries, the head of its disease control body said yesterday. South Africa and India, which both manufacture drugs and vaccines, made the proposal at the World Trade Organization last year, saying intellectual property (IP) rules were hindering the urgent scale-up of vaccine production and provision of medical products to some patients. They have faced opposition from some developed nations, but the backing of the African Union may give renewed impetus for the push to…