China would benefit from proposed IP giveaway

By Walter G. Copan 
Center for Strategic and International Studies

China steals up to $600 billion of American intellectual property every year – more than the entire GDP of most countries.  

Considering the sheer scale of this theft, Americans should be shocked to learn that the White House is considering a plan that would voluntarily give the fruits of American innovation to China and other economic and geopolitical rivals.

But that is precisely what's happening.

In the spring of 2022, the World Trade Organization, with the United States' consent, voted to waive patent protections on Covid-19 vaccines. 

Proponents of the waiver argued that intellectual property protections were inhibiting access to vaccines in poorer countries. But there was never any evidence to back up that claim. Indeed, to date, the waiver has not been applied to manufacture Covid-19 vaccines.

Some WTO members are now seeking to expand last year's decision to waive IP rights for Covid-19 therapeutics and diagnostics. The WTO could make a final decision as soon as February 2024. 

An expanded IP waiver – which would need the approval of the Biden administration, since WTO decisions are made by consensus – is a solution to a problem that does not exist. As was the case for vaccines, there's no evidence of IP protections inhibiting access to diagnostics and therapeutics. 

In addition to delivering no tangible benefits, an expansion of the waiver would needlessly put America's national security and economy at risk. 

Waiving IP rights for life-saving Covid products would be a gift to China – which poses the gravest long-term threat to U.S. economic and national security.

The United States has already lost manufacturing dominance in various product categories – and is struggling to revive it. 

One area where we continue to lead – for now – is life sciences. America remains a trailblazer in this field, leading the world in biopharmaceutical R&D. The biopharmaceutical industry contributes hundreds of billions of dollars to our economy and employs hundreds of thousands of Americans across nearly every state in the country.

But China is open about wanting to challenge America's lead.

Granting China and other competitors the ability to churn out American-invented Covid therapies without compensation or license would directly reduce demand for U.S. manufacturing capacity and undermine the foundations of future U.S. innovation. Such a misguided action would interfere with our ability to respond quickly to future public health crises, while further jeopardizing American jobs. 

Protecting intellectual property is about more than enabling innovation. U.S. jobs and our economic and national security are at stake. It's time for the White House to protect American innovation by firmly rejecting the proposed IP waiver at the WTO.

Walter G. Copan, PhD, is vice president for research and technology transfer at Colorado School of Mines, and senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and co-founder of its Renewing American Innovation project. He previously served as director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This piece originally ran in RealClearHealth.