US Chamber of Commerce warns against COVID-19 waiver
The US Chamber of Commerce has warned against the proposed Covid-19 IP waiver, in its latest International IP Index, a report measuring the quality of global IP systems.
The report, entitled: “ Compete for Tomorrow” released by the US Chamber of Commerce Global Innovation Policy Center (GIPC) maps the IP ecosystem in 53 global economies representing over 90% of global GDP.
The US earned the top score again in the 2022 edition, followed by the UK, Germany, Sweden and France.
The report hailed the vaccines, therapeutics, and technologies that had led the world through the pandemic, holding that they were the fruit of a pre-existing innovation ecosystem that relies on IP rights to enable allocation of resources, formation of partnerships, and transfer of technology on commercial terms.
COVID-19 lessons
“Effective IP rights facilitated hundreds of voluntary licensing agreements that allowed the rapid scale-up of global manufacturing. Data indicates that by June 2022, global vaccine manufacturing capacity will reach 24 billion doses,” it said.
The report warned that the proposal (if agreed and implemented) would waive many of the international IP commitments in the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, which has never been fully or faithfully implemented by most WTO member countries.
“Any waiver of IP rights will impede ongoing and successful efforts to licence and scale global production of safe and effective COVID-19 therapies and vaccines. As of January 2022, there were nearly 330 voluntary partnerships and collaborations among manufacturers facilitating the production of billions of doses of vaccines, and over 110 voluntary partnerships facilitating production of therapeutics, all supported by the contractual licensing of IP rights,” it added.
The GIPC held that any move to roll back IP rules or their enforcement would inject uncertainty at an already challenging time, as well as impede ongoing and highly successful efforts to licence and scale global production and distribution of safe and effective vaccines.
The GIPC is the world’s largest business federation representing the interests of more than three million businesses of all sizes, sectors, and regions, as well as state and local chambers and industry associations.
Driving change
“By making the right policy choices, governments can accelerate innovation economies,” said David Hirschmann, president and CEO of GIPC. “As the data makes clear, effective IP systems encourage innovators and creators to embrace new ideas, take risks, and drive change.”
“A strong IP system is vital to ensuring that the next generation of innovative and creative industries can compete for a better tomorrow, and embrace global challenges head-on.”
Out of the 53 economies included in both the ninth and tenth editions, 45 saw a net improvement in their scores. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), Nigeria, and Peru had the largest improvements in score at 4%, 3%, and 2%, respectively.
Since the inaugural edition of the IP Index, the average score of economies has increased by 1.5%—from 55.7% in 2012 to 57% in 2022.
The improvement was most pronounced in the patents and international treaties categories, which the report said signalled a growing understanding of ways patents drive innovation and the value of global harmonisation on IP standards, said the report.
Question mark over patent rights
But while high-income economies scored well on the patent-related indicators, there continues to be a degree of uncertainty about the availability of certain patent rights, said the report.
It pointed to the US, where uncertainty persists regarding patentable subject matter and patent nullity proceeding through the Patent Trial and Appeals Board.
The report also criticised the high degree of uncertainty regarding the availability of patent term restoration in the UK and EU as the supplementary protection certificate (SPC) export waiver exemption remains in force in all EU Member States (and the UK).
Elsewhere, the study found that there was mixed progress in the arena of patents in emerging markets. For example, while Brazil eliminated the prior consent requirement in the patent review process, the Brazilian Supreme Court revoked Article 40 of the Industrial Property Law that provides a 10-year term of patent protection.
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