The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs Agreement) The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs Agreement) was established at the ministerial meeting in Marrakesh in April 1994. Since its establishment, many less developed countries have been dissatisfied with the international intellectual property system. From their perspective, the system fails to take into consideration their needs, interests, and local conditions. The strong protection mandated under the TRIPs Agreement also threatens their much-needed access to information, knowledge, and essential medicines. BY PETER K. YU IN 10 MARQIPLR 369 (SEE ARTICLES ON THIS WEBSITE) In October 2020, the governments of India and South Africa, with the support of 62 WTO member states, proposed a TRIPS Agreement waiver proposal that would temporarily waive intellectual property rights protections for technologies needed to prevent, contain, or treat COVID-19, including vaccines and vaccine-related products. This narrow waiver, proposed initially by South Africa and India, would temporarily waive patent rights over these products to facilitate increased production volume and more widespread manufacturing worldwide.