India on Saturday said if members of the WTO fail to deliver on a proposal on waiving certain intellectual property obligations to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic, it would impact global growth and livelihood.
In October 2020, India and South Africa had submitted a proposal suggesting a waiver for all WTO (World Trade Organisation) members on the implementation, application and enforcement of certain provisions of the TRIPS Agreement in relation to the prevention, containment or treatment of Covid-19.
The agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, or TRIPS, came into effect in January 1995. It is a multilateral agreement on intellectual property (IP) rights such as copyright, industrial designs, patents and protection of undisclosed information or trade secrets.
“If we fail in the next one or two quarters or not delivering on that, we are coming in the way of global growth and livelihood,” Indian Ambassador and permanent representative to the WTO, Brajendra Navnit, said at the Asia Economic Dialogue.
