Also Read | Lessons from India’s tryst with lockdownIn a submission before the TRIPS (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) Council of WTO on 2 October, India and South Africa had urged WTO members for a waiver of certain rules of the TRIPS agreement.They said this would ensure that intellectual property rights such as patents, industrial designs, copyright and protection of undisclosed information do not create barriers to timely access to affordable vaccines and medicines or to scaling up research, development, manufacturing and supply of medical products essential to combat covid-19.The proposal has since been discussed orally many times at the TRIPS Council but a consensus for a text-based negotiation has not been.