Bolivia Invokes Compulsory License For COVID-19 Vaccines Under TRIPS

Bolivia has waded into the fray over intellectual property rights at the World Trade Organization, announcing this week that it intends to import COVID-19 vaccines via a built-in compulsory license framework -- a WTO-compliant pathway that has frequently triggered U.S. ire in the past. The WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights allows countries to issue compulsory licenses for additional manufacturing of otherwise patented products under certain conditions. The United States is historically very protective of its IP,...