Option #1: Something similar to ASCAP, but for vaccines. You pay a flat fee to a “vaccine guild”, and that gives you a license to produce whatever you want. In essence, a form of insurance against accidental patent infringement.
Option #2: a simple penalty for not getting vaccinated. Maybe the vaccine passports could include a paid option for anyone who won’t get vaccinated, and some of the funds could be allocated to R&D
Option #3: A congestion tax on in-person indoor gatherings.
Option #4: An across the board increase in patent maintenance fees, possibly linked to expected income from a patent. Failure to pay the fee results in the patent getting auctioned off (maybe 2nd price sealed bid?)
In essence, a form of insurance against accidental patent infringement.
Why do you believe accidental patent infringement is a concern for a sizeable number of people producing vaccines?
Option #4: An across the board increase in patent maintenance fees, possibly linked to expected income from a patent.
That seems about “how can we make Eroom’s law keep going” instead of doing anything helpful for biotech (other area’s have different considerations regarding patents).
Actually for the mRNA vaccines accidental patent infringement seems highly likely, since the underlying platform is well understood, much of the research originated in universities with direct government funding, and the genetic code for viruses is routinely released into the public domain.
For me at least, the point is to figure out what can substitute for a failure of the patent system. You might see the patent system as likely to fail in the future because Biden just undermined it. I also think patents were just always a bad idea. So I’m trying to think of how we can get vaccines in a world where there just aren’t patents. #1 and 4 seem to presuppose a functioning patent system, so I’m not a fan. #2 and 3 are more interesting. They would both require a credible pre-commitment from the government to enforce such taxation and give it to the pharma companies. Do you think it could make such a credible pre-commitment? Especially after what it just did with the vaccine patents?
Option #1: Something similar to ASCAP, but for vaccines. You pay a flat fee to a “vaccine guild”, and that gives you a license to produce whatever you want. In essence, a form of insurance against accidental patent infringement.
Option #2: a simple penalty for not getting vaccinated. Maybe the vaccine passports could include a paid option for anyone who won’t get vaccinated, and some of the funds could be allocated to R&D
Option #3: A congestion tax on in-person indoor gatherings.
Option #4: An across the board increase in patent maintenance fees, possibly linked to expected income from a patent. Failure to pay the fee results in the patent getting auctioned off (maybe 2nd price sealed bid?)
Why do you believe accidental patent infringement is a concern for a sizeable number of people producing vaccines?
That seems about “how can we make Eroom’s law keep going” instead of doing anything helpful for biotech (other area’s have different considerations regarding patents).
Actually for the mRNA vaccines accidental patent infringement seems highly likely, since the underlying platform is well understood, much of the research originated in universities with direct government funding, and the genetic code for viruses is routinely released into the public domain.
I haven’t looked up “Eroom’s law” yet.
For me at least, the point is to figure out what can substitute for a failure of the patent system. You might see the patent system as likely to fail in the future because Biden just undermined it. I also think patents were just always a bad idea. So I’m trying to think of how we can get vaccines in a world where there just aren’t patents. #1 and 4 seem to presuppose a functioning patent system, so I’m not a fan. #2 and 3 are more interesting. They would both require a credible pre-commitment from the government to enforce such taxation and give it to the pharma companies. Do you think it could make such a credible pre-commitment? Especially after what it just did with the vaccine patents?