Sign-On STATEMENT TO WTO In Support of TRIPS WAIVER: Copyright Barriers Prevent an Equitable Response to COVID-19

A group of 27 civil society organizations has drafted a statement to the World Trade Organization (WTO) highlighting the need to overcome copyright barriers to ensure an equitable response to COVID-19. The statement is open for endorsements from both organizations and from individuals until March 18. It will be formally submitted to the WTO on March 22. The form for endorsing the statement is here.

The statement notes:

Access to copyrighted works, in addition to patent and know-how, is needed to prevent and contain COVID-19 and to develop treatments.
COVID-19 has aggravated deep inequalities in access to knowledge. In some countries with flexible copyright systems, residents are able to access and use essential materials in remote educational, learning and research activities, virtually access and use the collections of libraries and other institutions, and contribute to research on treatments using advanced processes such as text and data mining.

But these activities are not taking place everywhere because they are not lawful everywhere.

The statement supports the proposed waiver of TRIPS obligations for the response to COVID-19, which is currently under debate at the WTO. (The wavier is supported by at least two thirds of WTO Members, but being blocked by the U.S. and other wealthy countries). It then urges the WTO to further clarify that the copyright provisions of TRIPS:

Can and should be interpreted and implemented to respect the primacy of human rights obligations during the pandemic and other emergencies, including the rights to seek, receive and impart information, to education, and to freely participate in cultural life and share in scientific advancement and its benefits, while protecting the moral and material interests of authors;

Permit governments to protect and promote vital public interests during a health or other emergency;

Permit governments to carry forward and appropriately extend into the digital environment limitations and exceptions that are appropriate in the digital network environment, particularly during a health or other emergency.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STATEMENT

CLICK HERE TO ENDORSE

The Civil Society Groups that released the statement are:

  • African Library & Information Associations & Institutions (AfLIA)
  • Centrum Cyfrowe, Poland
  • COMMUNIA
  • Corporacion Innovarte
  • Creative Commons
  • CulturalAction, Korea
  • EIFL (Electronic Information for Libraries)
  • Fundación Karisma, Colombia
  • Free Knowledge Advocacy Group EU (Wikimedia)
  • Global Expert Network on Copyright User Rights
  • Hiperderecho, Perú
  • Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia (INCT) Proprietas
  • Intellectual Property Institute (IPI)
  • InternetLab, Brazil
  • International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
  • IT for Change, India
  • Indonesia for Global Justice (IGJ)
  • Knowledge Commune, Korea
  • Knowledge Ecology International
  • Lithuanian Research Library Consortium
  • Open Access India
  • Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
  • Research Center for Intellectual Property, Internet and Innovation (GNet-UFMG), Brazil
  • Salud y Farmacos, USA
  • Southern and Eastern Africa Trade Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI), Uganda
  • The Democracy Collaborative
  • Wikimedia Italia

Author

  • Mike Palmedo

    Mike Palmedo is the admin for infojustice.org, and he manages interdisciplinary research on copyright exceptions at American University College of Law's Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property. He has Masters degrees Economics and in International Affairs, and is an economics PhD candidate.

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