Dr Luke McDonagh and Dr Olga Gurgula (Brunel) have published a new South Centre Policy Brief on Intellectual Property in the context of ongoing WHO Pandemic Accord negotiations. The WHO Pandemic Accord offers an opportunity to provide an effective mechanism to build upon existing WTO TRIPS flexibilities in the specific pandemic context. Dr McDonagh and Dr Gurgula propose a new provision (Article 11bis) that outlines a mechanism on cross-border procedure of non-voluntary technology transfer during a pandemic. This procedure could be invoked in a pandemic scenario in which voluntary technology transfer mechanisms have failed to provide sufficient supplies of a needed pandemic product. The brief is published by the South Centre – the primary intergovernmental organization of developing countries that uses expertise to promote common interests in the international arena. The South Centre was established by an Intergovernmental Agreement which came into force on 31 July 1995 and is headed by one of the world’s leading Intellectual Property scholars: Professor Carlos Correa.
The brief is accessible here:
https://www.southcentre.int/southviews-no-261-23-april-2024/