A delicate balance: IP rights and the public interest

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a heavy toll on families, communities, and nations the world over. As the virus spreads, companies and nations are racing to build vaccines and drugs to benefit society at large and, of course, tap a business opportunity.

As the vaccine trials reach stage II and III, the plan for the production and distribution of vaccines are taking shape. One hotly debated issue is the voluntary licensing of the patented vaccine/drug.

International institutions such as the World Health Organization (WHO) urge countries, companies, and research institutions to support open data, open science, and open collaboration so that all people can enjoy the benefits of science and research.

So far, Costa Rica has mooted a proposal to create a pool of rights to tests, medicines, and vaccines, with free access or licensing on reasonable and affordable terms for all countries.

While WHO endorsed the proposal and launched the pool in late May, not all drug companies are enthusiastic about supporting it. As an example, Pfizer’s chief executive termed it “nonsense, and … it’s also dangerous”.

At the same time, companies realise that bad PR will be generated by insisting on licence fees during the pandemic to make their patents available.

Going by the two examples below, it seems that companies are likely to provide patents royalty-free or will not push back when the government invokes its power to grant a compulsory licence, during the pandemic.