US supports lifting patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines
Negotiations will continue at the World Trade Organization
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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that it supported waiving patent protections on COVID-19 vaccines, calling the pandemic a “global health crisis.”
“This is a global health crisis, and the extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures. 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,” United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement.
Waiving those protections would theoretically let countries and organizations manufacture patented vaccines without facing repercussions. But they would need to have the expertise and materials on hand to actually produce the vaccines.
US backs waiving intellectual property rules on vaccines
JAMEY KEATEN and ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press
May 5, 2021
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1of5FILE - In this April 28, 2021, file photo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai testifies during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Biden administration is throwing its support behind efforts to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to speed the end of the pandemic. Tai announced the government s position in May 5 statement, amid World Trade Organization talks over easing global trade rules to enable more countries to produce more of the life-saving vaccines. (Sarah Silbiger/Pool via AP, File)Sarah Silbiger/APShow MoreShow Less
May 5, 2021 3:57 PM EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) The Biden administration is throwing its support behind efforts to waive intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines in an effort to speed the end of the pandemic.
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the government’s position in a Wednesday statement, amid World Trade Organization talks over easing global trade rules to enable more countries to produce more of the life-saving vaccines.
“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,” Tai said in the statement.
But she cautioned that it would take time to reach the required global “consensus” to waive the protections under WTO rules, and U.S. officials said it would not have an immediate effect on the global supply of COVID-19 shots.
Biden throws support behind waiving intellectual property protections for Covid vaccines to allow hard-hit countries like India and South Africa to make copycat shots
The Biden administration said on Wednesday it supports waiving intellectual property protections for vaccine makers like Pfizer and Moderna
Without waiving these patent rights, countries like South African and India cannot manufacture the shots 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, said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai in a statement
The World Trade Organization has urged counties to waive patent protection
May 05, 2021 - 8:04 PM
US backs waiving intellectual property rules on vaccines
WASHINGTON (AP) â The Biden administration on Wednesday joined calls for more sharing of the technology behind COVID-19 vaccines to help speed the end of the pandemic, a shift that puts the U.S. alongside many in the developing world who want rich countries to do more to get doses to the needy.
United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai announced the government s position, amid World Trade Organization talks about a possible temporary waiver of its protections that would allow more manufacturers to produce the life-saving vaccines.
âThe Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines, Tai said in a statement.