On June 17th, 2022, the World Trade Organization (WTO) announced that its member countries celebrated an agreement with the partial waiver of intellectual property rights related to Covid-19 vaccines for a period of 05 (five) years.

After two years of negotiations, the WTO members agreed with the waiver restricted to the patents needed to produce and supply covid-19 vaccines, which means that it does not cover tests, commercial secrets, and/or treatments of the disease.

On the other hand, member countries that manufacture such vaccines must provide “adequate remuneration” to patent holders, which will be established considering good practices in cases of national emergencies or similar situations. Within six months of the agreement, member countries will decide on their extension of waiver to cover the production and supply of diagnosis and therapeutic Covid-19.