Author: Doris Estelle Long

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the globe, we need to consider every avenue that could improve access to critical medicines needed to fight this deadly disease. The primary focus on securing patent waivers under TRIPS makes perfect sense because patents have been the traditional basis for protecting pharmaco-medical innovations, including the technologies for production and delivery. Compulsory access to both patents and trade secrets is critical. But we overlook a crucial weapon in the fight for vaccine distribution equity when we give short shrift to the equally important role that copyright can play in bringing the full weight of technology to bear on this deadly scourge.