News and Commentary
In USA Today, Charles Duan and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) argue that it’s necessary for taxpayers to assert their rights as the primary investors of the coronavirus vaccine, using compulsory licensing powers which the U.S. government has under Section 1498.
In TechDirt, Josh Landau writes about the problems with what Mark Lemley called the “sole inventor” myth in the current debates surrounding innovation and patenting in the U.S. As important as people like Edison and Bell were, they also employed a large staff of “muckers” who were doing the harder work of innovating yet do not get the glory.
In an interview for NewsClick, Dean Baker is interviewed on the role of intellectual property laws during the COVID-19 pandemic, discussing how restrictions put in place by patent law will hinder the rollout of vaccines and other drugs.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for better protection of intellectual property in China, evidence of the nation’s evolving from it’s days as a developing pirate into an established economy which benefits from the legal recognition of exclusive rights.
New Research
Sapna Kumar has written an article examining the international perspective on licensing intellectual property in the pharmaceutical space in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. He proposes creating, among other policies, a petition system where third-party generic manufacturers can petition the government for the issuance of compulsory licenses.
A new NBER paper examines the dynamics of outsourced vs in-house R&D for the development of new products. Innovative firms want to avoid “cannibalization” of their existing products, and in-house development provides the greater control necessary for this to be avoided.
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