Re:Covid: US backs waiver on vaccine intellectual property
by jffry on Thursday May 06, 2021 @08:57AM
(#27062504)
I believe that yes, the angle on this is overseas patent protection, as moderated by the WTO.
This "waiver" seems like it would essentially be the WTO member states unanimously agreeing that they won't be using any of the usual tools / threats of sanctions they could normally bring to bear as a collective to squash violations of IP for these patents.
The US cannot act unilaterally in this regard - the WTO members would all have to agree to it for it to work effectively - but the US staking out its position may help to drive a consensus position.
This "waiver" seems like it would essentially be the WTO member states unanimously agreeing that they won't be using any of the usual tools / threats of sanctions they could normally bring to bear as a collective to squash violations of IP for these patents.
The US cannot act unilaterally in this regard - the WTO members would all have to agree to it for it to work effectively - but the US staking out its position may help to drive a consensus position.