Minutes - TRIPS Council - View details of the intervention/statement

H.E. Ambassador Dagfinn Sørli and Ambassador Dr. Lansana Gberie
3 IP MEASURES IN THE CONTEXT OF COVID-19

91.   South Africa would like to reiterate its support for this item to remain on the agenda of the TRIPS Council and thanks the Secretariat for its ongoing work to update the compilation. In our view the compilation of measures is a useful tool that not only informs Members regarding measures by other Members but can also be the basis for useful mutual dialogue. The overall theme that emerged from the experiences shared was the inadequacy of existing flexibilities to deal with the pandemic. The TRIPS Waiver Proposal offers a workable solution. We note with appreciation, the Secretariat working paper entitled "Innovation and the Patenting Activities of COVID-19 Vaccines in WTO Members – Analytical Review of Medicines Patent Pool COVID-19 Vaccines Landscape (VAXPAL)". Our delegation is studying the report and we believe it would be appropriate for the Secretariat to provide Members with a presentation of the findings. 92.   We also note that tomorrow afternoon, WIPO will present a patent landscape Report on "COVID- 19 related vaccines and therapeutics - Preliminary insights on related patenting activity during the pandemic". In our view, it would greatly benefit the discussions of this Council if WIPO could be invited to present its findings.

The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to this item at its next meeting.
15. The Chair recalled that this agenda item had been discussed in the Council since its informal open-ended meeting in June 2020 and had remained on the Council's agenda at its formal meetings since then. The purpose of this item was to facilitate exchange of views on measures undertaken as the pandemic continued.
16. He referred to the compilation "COVID-19: Measures Regarding Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights" – available from the WTO website – which contained a non-exhaustive list of IP- related measures taken in the context of COVID-19, compiled by the Secretariat from official sources and verified by the Members concerned. This list was updated continuously, even if the rate at which new measures are brought to the attention of the Secretariat was slowing down. He thanked those Members that had informed the Secretariat of measures that should be included in this list, as well as any update or information on the expiry – or end of application – of such measures and encouraged others to do the same.
17. The Chair recalled that in earlier meetings of the Council, and at the General Council, a number of Members had asked the Secretariat to provide and compile data on the number of voluntary license agreements regarding COVID-19 vaccine production over time, and on the projected and observed volume of vaccine dose production under these agreements. At the Council's October 2021 meeting, the Secretariat had presented an updated set of data from different sources under this agenda item. The Chair invited the Secretariat to provide a further update on the data compilation.
18. The Secretariat took the floor.
19. The representatives of South Africa; the United States; and China and took the floor.
20. The Chair thanked the Secretariat and the Members for their statements. In view of the continued interest on this agenda item, he proposed that the Council revert to the item at its next meeting, so that exchanges could once again take place, including on the basis of the updated Secretariat document of COVID-19-related IP measures.
21. The Council took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to this item at its next meeting.
IP/C/M/104/Add.1, IP/C/M/104/Rev.1, IP/C/M104