Prof. Sean Flynn Director of PIJIP interviewed on KPFK Evening News regarding TRIPS Waiver Proposal
Aneeta Mathur-Ashton
June 2, 2021
Sean Flynn, Director of American University’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, was interviewed May 22nd on the KPFK Evening News. Flynn was interviewed on the TRIPS Waiver proposal in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The WTO’s agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights, or TRIPS, is a comprehensive multi-lateral agreement that requires all members to have a series of IP policies, a key one involving rights on drugs and vaccines. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage places like India and Japan, access to vaccines remains the largest problem. One way to help ease the accessibility gap is by waiving the intellectual property rights of the major drug companies like Pfizer and Moderna that are behind the vaccines.
Flynn noted that the United States has:
"... changed course and said we will negotiate on this issue, and in fact, we want a waiver of intellectual property – that’s important because it’s not just patents – all intellectual property for the purpose of promoting access to vaccines. India and South Africa were slightly broader. They asked for all intellectual property on vaccines, treatments, and other measures to prevent COVID. So that potentially is a broader ask."
Over 250 research and education organizations internationally have called on the WTO to endorse a TRIPS waiver extending to all intellectual property rights to tackle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The Biden administration has also endorsed a waiver of all “intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” not only of patents.
An additional press release as well as the link to the sign-on letter about how the TRIPS Waiver should have a broad scope of rights can be found at https://www.wcl.american.edu/impact/initiatives-programs/pijip/events/press-conference-international-research-organizations-call-on-wto-to-suspend-ip-rules-to-help-prevent-contain-treat-covid-19/