Patent protection for vaccines: intellectual property rights remain important

In the current debate on the removal of patent protection for Corona vaccines, proponents of releasing the vaccine patents are arguing with opponents who want to maintain the patent protection. This is an exciting debate that WORDUP PR is happy to follow.

Jan Witt, from IP software provider and our client ANAQUA, commented on this in the magazine The European and explained why, in his view, a softening of patent protection would be wrong and would hinder future innovations, especially in the medical sector. “Effective patent protection ensures that the basis for investment in medical innovations is created,” Witt said. This is because medical innovations face a lengthy and costly development and testing process before their final market approval. Removing patent protection would therefore ensure that companies are no longer motivated to invest in research into Corona vaccines.

Another important point is that patents promote knowledge sharing and transparency. The fact that patent applications have to be published promptly means that the latest research findings are quickly disseminated within the industry, says Witt. This enables other researchers to build on these findings and advance research in the same field. Without patents, many research results would instead be kept secret for as long as possible so that competitors could not simply copy the know-how, Witt says. Instead of abandoning patent protection, governments would be better off using other means to help countries produce more vaccines quickly, Witt concludes.

The topic of patents and intellectual property has been a focus of WORDUP PR for more than 20 years: Currently, WORDUP PR is again planning several professional events (live & virtual) on current challenges in innovation management and intellectual property in cooperation with its long-term client ANAQUA. WORDUP PR has already been holding regular events on these topics since 2017, including the international event “Wiesn IP Forum 2019”, which was attended by more than 150 guests in Munich and at the Oktoberfest.