ABSTRACT
Shall vaccine patents be temporarily suspended? This paper derives a simple policy rule that governments can use to frame an answer based on a transparent model of the COVID-19 vaccine industry. This industry is highly concentrated and, while the social gains from successful imitation are huge, it is hard to transfer vaccine know-how from the handful of patent holders to potential imitators. In this environment, loosening intellectual property rights (IPRs) protection in a pandemic has significant temporary advantages. Still, it may harm future innovation because it would create an expectation of future IPRs waivers. This paper allows an upbeat assessment of the conditions that make a patent waiver desirable, even considering the future R&D implications. Moreover, it shows how reasonably minimal rises of R&D subsidies can overcome the IPRs uncertainty.
Cozzi, Guido, Shall we fear a Patent Waiver? Not for COVID-19 Vaccines (February 7, 2022).
First posted 2022-02-09 19:00:53
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