June 21, 2022
In 2021, a Biden administration announcement for support of a proposal submitted to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would relax Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) protecting COVD-19 vaccines and treatments aroused controversy throughout the biotech and intellectual property worlds. Kobre & Kim’s Michael M. Rosen, who focuses on cross-border intellectual property disputes, moderates a live panel on the debate over intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines from 2:30 pm to 3:30 EST, June 21, 2022, at the AEI Auditorium in Washington, DC.
Critics of the WTO proposal call instead for vaccine manufacturers to accelerate production and for Western governments to subsidize vaccine delivery overseas, while supporters argue that a TRIPS waiver would allow generic manufacturers to quickly produce cheap vaccine doses for the developing world. As the WTO considers a compromise proposal on this issue this month, panelists will discuss how the TRIPS debate has evolved as new COVID-19 variants have emerged and international disagreement on the issue continues.
Please click here for more information and to register or watch the event virtually.