06 May 21
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-patent-waiver-biden/
Biden administration to support waiving COVID-19 patents
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has announced the administration's support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines. Waiving patent protections has gained traction, especially among progressives, as COVID-19 continues to spread in countries like India and Brazil.
It's a move that could have a significant impact for pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and for other countries as most of the world continues to struggle with access to the vaccine. The humanitarian crisis in India as it wages war with the virus has put particular pressure on the U.S. to waive vaccine patents.
The announcement allows for negotiations to begin at the World Trade Organization. Dozens of countries have made a proposal to waive parts of the World Trade Organization's Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. But some wealthier nations, including the U.S., hadn't expressed support for the idea.
"This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures," Tai said in a statement. "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."
06 May 21
@vivify saidBiden doesn't have the ability to unilaterally waive COVID patents. He can withdraw or suspend cooperation in TRIPS, but he can't stop private companies from suing to enforce their patent rights.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-vaccine-patent-waiver-biden/
Biden administration to support waiving COVID-19 patents
U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai has announced the administration's support for waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines. Waiving patent protections has gained traction, especially among progressives, as COVI ...[text shortened]... pate in text-based negotiations at the World Trade Organization needed to make that happen."
06 May 21
@vivify saidThat precedent was set when insulin was invented
Beautiful move.
The implications of this are pretty staggering. This sets a precedent for similar acts in the future with other life-saving drugs.
06 May 21
@vivify saidYep, nice as it sounds would it not discourage future investment. I wonder how many have lost millions "trying" to develop a vaccine. Now those that succeed may even lose money.
Beautiful move.
The implications of this are pretty staggering. This sets a precedent for similar acts in the future with other life-saving drugs.
Just wondering, not sure how this game works.
06 May 21
@jimmac saidIt would. Drug companies don't invent medicine out of altruism, it's all about profit.
Yep, nice as it sounds would it not discourage future investment.
There has to be some kind of middle ground where Big Pharma can profit without making people choose between food and death. But for now, I like this move from Biden.
06 May 21
@vivify saidA good example of reading and not understanding. Biden / the US, is going to cast is vote in favour of waiving patents for Covid. Thats all the power they have. There are over 150 member countries, many who will vote in favour of patented Covid drugs.
I thought the same thing at first; but (so far) this administration doesn't strike me as the type that just announces acts it has no power to follow through on. So I gave it Biden the benefit of the doubt.
07 May 21
@vivify saidThey're not claiming the power either.
I thought the same thing at first; but (so far) this administration doesn't strike me as the type that just announces acts it has no power to follow through on. So I gave it Biden the benefit of the doubt.
Notice the language "administration's support." They're not claiming they can do this unilaterally.
To clarify what I said above, the US is a signatory of TRIPS, which member states agree to enforce the patents of member states. The Biden administration can withdraw from TRIPS, at least with regard to the COVAX. It can also encourage Congress to carve an exception to the patent protection. There are also a couple of decades-old federal laws under which they can make patent enforcement uncomfortable or restricted. But they can't unilaterally make a blanket prohibition on patent enforcement and they're not claiming they can.
07 May 21
@rajk999 saidWhat "vote"?
A good example of reading and not understanding. Biden / the US, is going to cast is vote in favour of waiving patents for Covid. Thats all the power they have. There are over 150 member countries, many who will vote in favour of patented Covid drugs.
07 May 21
@vivify
U.S. tax payers spent around 18 billion on vaccine development. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-23/how-much-is-the-trump-administration-spending-on-a-vaccine
I think that gives the U.S. government the right to waive intellectual property rights so the as many people on the planet as possible get vaccinated as quickly as possible. This is not only a humanitarian crisis. It is a global economic crisis. The longer we wait to vaccinate populations in poor countries, the more likely a variant resistant to the current vaccines will emerge. By the way, those third world countries are impoverished due to rich colonial western countries.