Technology and Knowledge Diffusion
Technological innovation has a transformative, enduring impact on people’s lives. In the past, inventions could be developed and diffused to society by one entity. Today, cutting-edge innovations flow through complex global R&D and value chains in order to reach people, and technology convergence across sectors is the norm. IPRs play an important role in this flow. They are used by many actors, including companies and research institutes, to manage and share their technologies and know-how, and to move their inventions out of the lab and into society. IP rights provide legal certainty and clarity as to each innovator’s contributions to a project and ownership of the outcome. Having IP protection encourages collaboration across organizations, industry sectors, and borders. Over time, this “open innovation” can drive improvements in human capital and innovative capacity, giving rise to centers of excellence. Innovation Council members share their insights about collaborative innovation and other channels for knowledge diffusion, and the policies and tools that make this possible.
Building Greater Resilience in Vaccine Manufacturing – McKinsey & Company
Preparing for the next pandemic is a priority for many national public-health leaders and requires them to lay the groundwork to mount an effective vaccine response.
Decision makers could set the stage for vaccine resilience by defining what their countries and regions need; assessing the local capacity to scale production of vaccine doses; identifying gaps and weaknesses in their national and regional vaccine value chains.
Read the full article here.
Seminar hosted by the Geneva Network about Availability of COVID Solutions
On 5 October 2022, the Geneva Network organized a panel about the possible future implications of expanding the scope of the TRIPS waiver, in particular in relation to innovation and availability of diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines for health crises. Innovation Council’s Executive Director Jennifer Brant took part in this panel to share information about how bio-manufacturing infrastructure can be extended, and what policy actions governments can take to accelerate the process. She expressed the view that the June 2022 TRIPS waiver should be tested, and that evidence should be tabled as to the need to expand the waiver’s scope to cover additional categories of COVID health products, before WTO Members take further action.
Click here to watch the virtual meeting.
Geneva Network Analysis of the TRIPS Waiver
In the coming months WTO Members will continue to discuss whether to modify the TRIPS waiver that was agreed in June 2022 to include COVID therapeutics and diagnostics. Geneva Network has prepared a policy brief that explains why it could be counterproductive to expand the scope of the waiver in this way. The brief is authored by Philip Stevens of the Geneva Network and Prof. Mark Schultz, Director of the Intellectual Property and Technology Law Program at the University of Akron School of Law.
Compilation of WIPO Case Studies on IP Management by Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises
The WIPO Secretariat has compiled a selection of case studies and success stories obtained from various areas of WIPO, that showcase the use of IP rights by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). They provide a comprehensive overview on how IP is used by entrepreneurs, inventors and creators, to add value to their products, support business growth, create employment and promote economic development.
These stories will be presented from the 17th to the 22nd of October 2022 during the Twenty-Ninth Session of the Committee on Development and Intellectual Property (CDIP).
USPTO becomes a partner in international green-technology platform, WIPO GREEN
The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) became a technology partner to the global green-technology platform of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). WIPO GREEN is a public-private partnership established by WIPO in 2013. Its 145 international partners include major technology companies, intellectual property (IP) offices, business groups, research institutes, and nongovernmental organizations.
The USPTO’s contributions to WIPO GREEN include its own initiatives that are designed to address the challenge of climate change, including:
- The USPTO Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, which accelerates the examination of patent applications involving innovations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- The soon-to-be-announced Patents for Humanity: Clean Energy Technologies awards competition, a green technology–focused version of the USPTO’s highly successful Patents for Humanity awards competition
Click here to read more.
Moderna Sues Pfizer and BioNTech Over Covid Vaccine Technology
Moderna has sued Pfizer and BioNTech for patent infringement, claiming that its rivals’ Covid-19 shot copied technology that Moderna had developed years before the pandemic.
This sets up what could become a protracted and expensive legal battle between the companies behind coronavirus vaccines that have saved millions of lives worldwide and raised hopes for future medical products using similar messenger RNA, or mRNA, technology.
Read the full story here.
Making Biologics: Strategies and Policies for Enhancing Capacity
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that the cost of underinvesting in resilient systems for the development, production, and distribution of health technologies is too high.
This paper introduces biologics, describes opportunities in the sector, and provides insights about the processes for manufacturing them. It also identifies the diverse pathways that countries have used in recent years to develop bio-manufacturing capacity. Finally, it looks to the future to identify the government policies and technology solutions that will enable more countries to join global value chains and to produce these life-saving treatments more safely, quickly, and cost-effectively – to the benefit of patients everywhere.
Click here for the full story.
IP Protection for Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence is rapidly evolving to provide accurate information and solutions to problems. AI solutions can be extremely useful in many fields of endeavor.
There are various components and aspects of such systems. Currently, there is some uncertainty – especially with respect to patent protection – as to how intellectual property (IP) rights can be used to protect those components along with the outputs of AI systems.
Click here to read more.
IC Member Afya Rekod to Simplify Access to Medical Records Through Strategic Collaboration
GE Healthcare and Kenya-based start-up and IC member, Afya Rekod, have announced a strategic collaboration that seeks to transform care delivery through improved access to personal health data and medical records in Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa.
The partnership will give patients access to their health history and personal records, including radiological images, by enabling hospitals and diagnostic centers to host health records securely on one platform through a digital application.
Click here for more information.
Slideshow: Innovation and the COVID-19 Response
On 26 November 2021 the new research report about the role that intellectual property played in the development, manufacturing, and global distribution of COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics was launched in Geneva. The report was co-authored by Innovation Council’s very own Jennifer Brant, and Prof. Mark Schultz.
The report is available here, along with a slideshow of the research project.
Unprecedented – The Rapid Innovation Response to COVID-19 and the Role of Intellectual Property
Jennifer Brant, Director of Innovation Council, will present a recent research report that she co-authored about the constructive role played by IP rights in the rapid development and manufacturing of COVID-19 solutions. Jetane Charsley, Head of NIPMO, will host the event and lead a moderated discussion.
Tuesday, May 10 / 01:00 PM Johannesburg (CET)
Click here to register for this event.
IP Training Programs for Innovators of the Future
Every April 26, the global IP community marks World Intellectual Property Day to celebrate the role that intellectual property (IP) rights play in encouraging innovation and creativity. This year the theme of World Intellectual Property Day is “IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future” and celebrates youth-led ingenuity.
Across the globe, young people are stepping up to meet innovation challenges, using their energy and ingenuity, curiosity, and creativity to steer a course towards a better future. Knowledge about how to secure and manage intellectual property rights can accelerate their efforts. Therefore, Innovation Council has created an infographic featuring IP training programs dedicated to the innovators of the future.