International Call to Copyright Rules Waiver for COVID-19

On Monday, 22 March 2021, more than 250 stakeholders held an online press conference where they first published a joint call for waiver of certain copyright barriers for prevention, containment and treatment of COVID-19 virus.

On 22 March at 14:00, more than 100 research and educational institutions, and more than 150 international academics and other experts first released a public statement, calling upon the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to temporarily suspend some of its copyright rules, which would help the prevention, containment and treatment of the COVID-19 virus. The statement signatories include also some of the world’s biggest library and education federations, representing over 1500 institutions and 30 million educators globally.

The statement in full is available here.

IPI and Communia are both signatories of the statement and support it fully.