Introduction

The second edition of the joint WHO, WIPO and WTO publication “Promoting Access to Medical Technologies and Innovation: Intersections between public health, intellectual property and trade” (the Trilateral Study), published in 2020, included a special insert mapping the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to the integrated health, trade and IP policy framework set out in the study. The Trilateral Study and the special insert were designed to serve as background reference for policy-makers in the widest sense – lawmakers, government officials, delegates to international organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and researchers who seek a comprehensive presentation of the full range of issues, including institutions and legal concepts with which they may be unfamiliar. It is also designed to serve as a factual resource for the three organizations’ technical cooperation activities.