US backs COVID-19 IP waiver
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2023

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

US backs COVID-19 IP waiver

wto-waiver-min.jpeg

Despite concerns from the pharma industry, the Biden administration sides with waiving IP rights to vaccines

The Biden administration yesterday announced its backing of a waiver for all intellectual property rights to COVID-19 vaccines, in what is a huge blow to the pharma industry.

The waiver was proposed in October at the World Trade Organization by India and South Africa. It covers not just IP for vaccines but for all COVID-19 technologies.

Related stories

“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” said Ambassador Katherine Tai, the US trade representative, in a statement released on Wednesday, May 5, announcing the US’s support of the waiver. 

“The administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines. We will actively participate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization needed to make that happen,” she added.  

The waiver has been strongly opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, which argues that waiving IP would send a chilling signal to the industry and make it reluctant to invest in vaccine research the next time there is a pandemic. 

Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of trade group the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said the decision will do nothing to increase access to vaccines – and warned that it will undermine American leadership in biomedical research. 

“In the midst of a deadly pandemic, the Biden administration has taken an unprecedented step that will undermine our global response to the pandemic and compromise safety. This decision will sow confusion between public and private partners, further weaken already strained supply chains and foster the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines.” 

The waiver has received strong support from global health charities and developing countries but is opposed by the EU and some wealthy nations.

The director general of the World Health Organization (WHO), Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, called Biden’s support for the waiver a “monumental moment” in the fight against COVID-19. 

Global health care advocates argue that waiving IP rights to COVID-19 vaccines will not be enough to ensure equitable global access, which would also require know-how and technology transfer. 

Although the WHO created the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool for all IP and know-how related to COVID-19 over a year ago, it remains empty of relevant IP for vaccines and therapies. 

Biden’s support of the waiver does not guarantee it will be approved by the WTO’s TRIPS Council, which will continue to debate the initiative in the coming weeks. 

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

Firms explain how monitoring, referrals and relationships with foreign firms helped them get more work at the TTAB
Luke Toft explains why he moved back to Fox Rothschild after working in-house at Sleep Number for five months
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis coverage from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
In a seminal ruling, the Beijing Internet Court said images generated by Stable Diffusion counted as original works
Boston-based John Lanza is hoping to work more with life sciences colleagues on the ‘exciting’ application of AI to drug discovery
The Delhi High Court has expressed its willingness to set global licensing terms in the Nokia-Oppo dispute, but it must deal with longstanding problems first
Some patent counsel are still encountering errors even though the USPTO has fully transitioned to the new system
A senior USPTO attorney spoke at a Nokia-sponsored event on the EU’s proposed SEP Regulation today, November 29
IP counsel are ‘flooded’ with queries from clients worried about deepfakes, but the law has so far come up short
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career