Bangladesh calls for balanced IPR system to fight Covid

Bangladesh has called for a fair and balanced Intellectual Property Regime system to fight Covid-19 so that it does not stand hindrance to the effective response to the pandemic.

Ambassador Md Mustafizur Rahman, permanent representative of Bangladesh to the UN and other international organisations in Geneva, came up with the call at the 62nd series of the general assemblies of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), said a press release. The general assemblies began on Monday at the WIPO Headquarters in Geneva and would continue till the end of this week.

In his capacity as the coordinator of the Asia and the Pacific Group in WIPO, Mustafizur also highlighted that a balanced IPR system is required to encourage and ensure the development of and equitable access to the medical tools – such as diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines – to fight this global health crisis.

Underscoring the region’s great attachment to intellectual property as an important contributor to socio-economic growth and technological development, he laid stress on a fair and balanced IPR system to foster economic development in the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.