Author: Mohini Chaturvedi, Amity Law School, Amity University, Noida, LLM (IP), 2023
ABSTRACT
Intellectual ideas are to be recognised in some form which is accomplished by the concept of intellectual property rights. This paper highlights the importance of patents in protecting the rights of intellectual property right holders. The patent rights covered under the ambit of intellectual property are in conflict with the human rights in exceptional conditions. Such exceptional case arose with the advent of covid19 which consequentially led to public emergency in regards to its treatment by way of covid19 vaccines. This paper explains the arrival of the covid19 as a threat to life which reflected the inefficient working of health system and crisis of vaccines due to its reduced productivity rate on the account of grant of protection to the pharmaceutical companies in form of patent to covid19 vaccines. The paper further explains the scenario regarding the demand for patent waiver on covid19 vaccines which has certain advantages and disadvantages. The Pharmaceutical industry and their involved interests are explained in this paper which somewhat again brings the conflicting circumstances in terms of profit gaining by commercializing the product to get the cost of research and development and on the other hand in times of public emergencies, their rights are suppressed under public welfare rights.
Keywords: Covid-19 vaccines, Intellectual Property, Patents, Patentability, Pharmaceutical Industry.
