GIPA’s Response to the Proposed Waiver of Intellectual Property Protection for Covid-19 Vaccines

The Georgia Intellectual Property Alliance (GIPA) stands in a unique role with its efforts to facilitate creation, protection, and enablement of intellectual property for the social well-being of our citizens. Late last year, GIPA made the decision to remove legislative advocacy from our mission so that we could better represent all citizens of Georgia under the GIPA umbrella. It is from this perspective that GIPA acknowledges the complex and difficult conversations we face as a society at the intersection of balancing equitable and widespread access to life-saving technology and the intellectual property rights that incentivize the development of that same life-saving technology.

GIPA is concerned that the U.S. government's recent statement that it will support "waiving intellectual property protections for COVID-19 vaccines" could have far-reaching and unintended consequences. While GIPA will not advocate one way or the other on this issue per our policy, GIPA strongly encourages ongoing meaningful, open, and respectful conversations about the proper role of intellectual property rights in society.

We appreciate your support and engagement of GIPA and suggest the following two topics be considered for conversation: (1) the potential impact a waiver of intellectual property rights could create within the intellectual property ecosystem in terms of future investment into research and development and predictability of intellectual property rights, and (2) broader issues surrounding efforts to develop, manufacture, protect, and distribute innovative vaccines around the world.