Thread by @brussels_report

"The EU should hold firm on its opposition to scrap life-saving IP rights"
New article, by Philip Stevens, Executive Director of @genevanetwork
brusselsreport.eu/2021/05/26/the…
#TRIPSwaiver #IP #EuropeanUnion

"28 think tanks, including my own, have just published a Joint Declaration in support for protection of IP rights for Covid vaccines: geneva-network.com/research/a-joi… "

"They urge the EU to hold firm and not give into to political pressure to back the WTO IP waiver proposal. In a mere 18 months, #Covid has gone from being an unknown disease to a preventable disease, all thanks to four vaccines, enabled by IP protection"

"Rivals have shared proprietary compounds, platforms and technologies to develop Covid vaccines in record time... These partnerships would not happen without the legal certainties provided by IP rights."

"Fundamentally, the Declaration challenges the assumption underpinning the IP waiver proposal that there would be spare manufacturing capacity that could be harnessed if only IP didn’t stand in the way. In reality, only a few countries have this advanced manufacturing capacity"

"Lack of availability of input materials has nothing to do with IP rights but it has certainly been made worse by export restrictions. Therefore, the European Union is quite right to put forward the suggestion to limit export bans."