1、CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress INSIGHTINSIGHTi i Potential WTO TRIPS Waiver and COVID-19 Updated June 4, 2021 On May 5, 2021, the Biden Administration announced its support for a proposed waiver of intellectual property rights (IPR) obligations in the World Trade Organiz
2、ation (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. This is significant, given the United States history of advancing stronger IPR protections and enforcement globally. WTO TRIPS Agreement Entering into force in 199
3、5, TRIPS requires most WTO members to adhere to minimum standards to protect various types of IP, and to enforce these protections through domestic procedures and remedies, as well as provides for certain limitations and flexibilities to these obligations. Least-developed countries are exempt from m
4、eeting substantive TRIPS obligations generally until July 31, 2021, and pharmaceutical patent obligations until January 1, 2033. The balance struck in TRIPS to promote innovation and other societal aims faces ongoing debate. Some of the relevant flexibilities are that a WTO member can: Exclude certa
