The IP Waiver at the WTO: A Discussion of the Implications for IP, Innovation, and Public Health

Wednesday, June 23, 2021

1:00 – 2:30 pm ET via Zoom

RSVP here

The United States has announced that it supports a petition from India and South Africa to the World Trade Organization seeking a waiver of all intellectual property rights under international treaties on drugs, vaccines, or other responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. The IP waiver petition has provoked an intense policy debate over the role of intellectual property in healthcare innovation, drug development, and patient access.  The WTO members have now begun the process of negotiating the precise language of the IP waiver. While the scope of the IP waiver, its implementation by each country, and its ultimate practical impact are currently unknown, this is an unprecedented development in IP and healthcare policy.  This academic panel hosted by the Technology, Innovation, and Intellectual Property program of the Classical Liberal Institute at NYU School of Law will discuss these and other policy issues in the IP waiver.

Panelists:

Sharon K. Sandeen
Director, Intellectual Property Institute
Robins Kaplan Distinguished Professorship in IP Law
Professor of Law
Mitchell Hamline School of Law

Joshua D. Sarnoff
Professor of Law
DePaul University College of Law 

Adam Mossoff
Professor of Law at Antonin Scalia Law School
George Mason University
Co-Chair, Technology, Innovation, and Intellectual Property
Classical Liberal Institute at the NYU School of Law

Bowman Heiden
Co-Director of the Center for Intellectual Property
Visiting Professor, University of California, Berkeley
Co-Chair, Technology, Innovation, and Intellectual Property
Classical Liberal Institute at the NYU School of Law

Moderator:

Liya Palagashvili
Senior Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University