Re:Covid: US backs waiver on vaccine intellectual property
by PeterisP on Thursday May 06, 2021 @05:31AM
(#27060906)
> a country can't take away the rights of companies (or people) without their consent or modifying the patent laws.
That's not a problem, modifying laws is the default way how countries do things - if a country says "we'll do X" they most likely mean "we'll modify our laws so that X will happen".
But IIRC the patent laws of many countries already contain specific clauses for a simplified process to void patents for lifesaving reasons if they want to do it.
And it's worth noting that patents aren't a right, it's a privilege selectively granted by the government because the government expects that the process as a whole benefits the general society (by facilitating innovation and publishing of technical innovations instead of hiding them), not because the patent owners have a right to require it. The government does not have to offer patent protection; it chooses to grant a temporary monopoly for a limited time if certain conditions are met, and it can (essentially arbitrarily) decide what those conditions are.
That's not a problem, modifying laws is the default way how countries do things - if a country says "we'll do X" they most likely mean "we'll modify our laws so that X will happen".
But IIRC the patent laws of many countries already contain specific clauses for a simplified process to void patents for lifesaving reasons if they want to do it.
And it's worth noting that patents aren't a right, it's a privilege selectively granted by the government because the government expects that the process as a whole benefits the general society (by facilitating innovation and publishing of technical innovations instead of hiding them), not because the patent owners have a right to require it. The government does not have to offer patent protection; it chooses to grant a temporary monopoly for a limited time if certain conditions are met, and it can (essentially arbitrarily) decide what those conditions are.