COVID-19 is the number one topic all over the world right now, and so many questions being asked concerning the #virus. The question we are going to focus on ‘ if the vaccine is made, how can we get access to it? Is it going to be free? If not, how much would the cost be? The answer depends on the way the vaccine is going to be protected. The most likely way is by patent. In all countries with intellectual property (IP) system, Under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property of March 20, 1883, owning a patent of a product gives you an exclusive right to exploit from it, and you can also prevent others from using it in any way. With this huge advantage given to the owner, there is no wonder why we have a global patent race for the COVID-19 vaccine. A product demanded by everyone but we should also bear in mind Research and Development (R&D) for a single vaccine, drug, or diagnostic test will often cost billions of dollars; nonetheless, patents promote medical and scientific innovation in pharmaceutical drugs and diagnostic tests around the world by providing a way for companies to recoup their costs through exclusive manufacture, sale, and licensing of their inventions. Given the current global political climate, however, critics fear the nation’s right to control how and when a COVID 19 vaccine is distributed as obviously a restrictive distribution strategy might be followed by the patent owner. There is currently no vaccine for COVID-19, but several pharmaceutical companies in #Europe, the #United_States, and #China believe they are close to success. European leaders have repeatedly given assurances that if a European laboratory is the first to develop and patent a vaccine, the vaccine will be broadly licensed around the world to ensure access for vulnerable populations. In contrast, the United States and China have been engaged in an escalating trade war since 2018 surrounding China’s lack of enforcement of intellectual property rights of non-Chinese citizens, and both nations have responded to the coronavirus pandemic with strong nationalist sentiments. 🔹ICILS, ICITRAL Department, IP Law Working-Group