Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement)
Intellectual property and the green technology divide: barriers, policy spaces and collective options for developing countries
By Paulo Esteves
Developing countries are expected to industrialise, decarbonise, and adapt to climate change simultaneously. Yet, many crucial climate technologies remain inaccessible because key knowledge is protected by patents and trade secrets held by multinational companies in a few countries. Drawing on the intellectual property (IP) and climate literature, the paper maps this green technology IP landscape and synthesises four interacting barrier clusters – access costs, transaction costs, legal and institutional constraints (including TRIPS and “TRIPS plus”), and information and absorptive capacity gaps – that hinder diffusion and reinforce dependence. It concludes that closing the green technology divide requires a combined strategy: using and defending TRIPS flexibilities (e.g., compulsory licensing and tighter patentability standards), building collective licensing and transparency mechanisms (such as patent pools), mobilising finance, and investing in domestic capability and competition policy so access translates into real deployment and learning.
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Pending the Moratorium: the Status of Non-Violation and Situation Complaints Under the TRIPS Agreement Following MC14
By Viviana Munoz Tellez, Nirmalya Syam
The 14th WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14), held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, concluded on 30 March 2026 without extending the moratorium on non-violation and situation complaints (NVSCs) under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement). This policy brief argues that the expiry of the moratorium does not render NVSCs automatically applicable to disputes under the Agreement. The requirement under Article 64.3 for the TRIPS Council to examine the scope and modalities of NVSCs and for the WTO Ministerial Conference to adopt a consensus decision thereon, has not been fulfilled.
Until such a decision is taken, NVSCs remain inapplicable to TRIPS disputes. However, unless the implications of the non-extension are addressed, it may discourage the adoption of measures in the public interest by developing countries and least developed countries (LDCs) which would be fully legitimate under the TRIPS Agreement. Any attempt to suggest that NVSCs are now applicable to the obligations under this Agreement in the interim should be firmly contested. Resolving this issue through continued discussions in the TRIPS Council must be prioritized.
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