Thousands of people around the globe are dying every day due to Covid-19. Superpowers like the United States are seeing their economies shrinking rapidly and whereas a full lockdown is effective, it cannot last forever. We all know that the world can only return to normal if a vaccine is found.
World-leading research laboratories are competing with each other to find an effective vaccine. Many of them have also started vaccine trials, but an effective vaccine has not been found yet. There is an ongoing debate about what would happen to intellectual property rights once a vaccine is found.
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A patent allows a person to register their invention and gives them the right to take legal action against anyone who uses or sells their invention without their permission. The patent allows creators of an idea to credit their work and they can charge above normal price for their invention. Patent law plays a vital role in the advancement and technological development of the world. It specifically deals with the protection of inventions. This law provides means of protection of the invention by individuals for a fixed period of time, in order to enable them in the case of a patent for a “product” to make, import, stock, offer for sale, sell, and use the product. Likewise, in respect of a patent for a “process”, the law grants the exclusive right to use the process and also to make, import, offer for sale, sell, stock, and use the product obtained directly by means of the process so patented.
Invention by definition as provided for in the Patents Ordinance, 2000 in force in Pakistan, includes any new and useful product, including chemical products and any substance, article, apparatus, and machine. It also includes art, process, method, or manner of manufacture, substance or article, or product produced by the manufacturer and includes any new and useful improvement of any of them and an alleged invention. Under the patent law, protection of process or method, or manner of new manufacture of a product including a new use of a known process or a product is also possible.
Under the law presently in force in Pakistan, the term of a patent or the lifetime for which the right holder can derive exclusive benefits and exclude others from making, selling, stocking, using, etc., his invention is of 20 years. During this period, he can use his invention or if he so desires, license the same to others. Also, this protection is for a limited period and usually, the monetary benefits derived during this period, give incentive to the inventors and their financiers to make use of their intellect and resources in order to develop new products or make improvements in already existing ones and seek protection thereof. The general benefit of this activity is that a more refined product as well as its details are also made available to the public. While patent law is really good for safeguarding the rights of creators, it has raised problems in the state of the current pandemic.
The issue is that the public wants the vaccine to be accessible to everyone once it is available. Opponents of a patent-free coronavirus vaccine argue that it is not in the interest of those who develop the vaccine because there is no incentive involved. In addition, the pharmaceutical market, which is in essence different from other markets, but it actually behaves like every other common market as it will never develop anything that is not profitable. Also, it is not morally right for anyone to spend so much money on finding a vaccine and get nothing in return. Since most expensive vaccines are developed through public funding, coronavirus vaccines should also be funded publicly. Many countries including US and UK have invested millions of dollars in coronavirus vaccine research, and the World Health Organisation has even gathered many countries and funded them to collaborate to find an effective vaccine. Open Covid Pledge is one such movement that encourages organizations to make their patents and copyrights freely available to other researchers so that a vaccine can be found.
So, the argument here is that if the organizations are getting funding for coronavirus vaccine research, then they have no right to ask for more once a vaccine is found. Coronavirus is a global emergency and organizations should not try to make a profit from it. If they are getting money for the costs incurred, then that should be enough for them. After all, the lives of so many people are more important than their profit. Coronavirus has cost the life of many people around the globe and the sole purpose of researchers around the globe should be to save lives. Moreover, if the vaccine is available only to a few people or only a few people can afford it then it’s of no use because the world can only become coronavirus free if everyone around the globe is vaccinated. In the era of globalization, none of us is 100% safe until everyone is 100% safe.
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