SAVE OUR IP!

The Biden administration is quietly but aggressively working to undermine American companies and shift valuable, life-saving technology to countries like China. 

Left unchecked, the Biden administration could unilaterally waive Intellectual Property rights from vaccine makers to hand them over to countries that are very much willing to steal American innovation. 

The Biden Administration is working so secretly that it is failing to work with Congress, as it is required to do by law. That’s why a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is raising the alarm — and now we need your help to protect innovation in medicine. 

Read Our International Coalition Letter

A group of Republican Senators also recently sent a letter to Deputy United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador María Pagán, urging her to reject the proposal before the World Trade Organization (WTO) to undermine intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. 

This letter was signed by Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).  

Read Our Op-Ed in Forbes

As Lorenzo Montanari, Executive Director of Property Rights Alliance, has explained in-depth in Forbes:

IP rights are explicitly protected in the Constitution

The Founding Fathers recognized the importance of intellectual property rights in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution: “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Strong IP rights are vital because they turn new ideas into tangible goods and services that improve the quality of life for Americans by creating high-paying jobs and increasing economic growth.

Without IP rights, medical innovators will have no incentive to create new treatments and cures as they will have no way to recoup the investments they made in developing new medicines. Patent exclusivity for medicines has been deliberately legislated to ensure that creativity, innovation, and medical growth are protected.

Because of strong IP protections, the U.S. is a world leader when it comes to medical innovation

According to research by the Galen Institute, 290 new medical substances were launched worldwide between 2011 and 2018. The U.S. had access to 90 percent of these cures, a rate far greater than comparable foreign countries. By comparison, the United Kingdom had access to 60 percent of medicines, Japan had 50 percent, and Canada had just 44 percent.

Strong IP for medicines supports millions of American jobs

Nationwide, the pharmaceutical industry directly or indirectly accounts for over four million jobs across the U.S and in every state, according to research by TEconomy Partners, LLC. This includes 800,000 direct jobs, 1.4 million indirect jobs, and 1.8 million induced jobs, which include retail and service jobs that are supported by spending from pharmaceutical workers and suppliers. The average annual wage of a pharmaceutical worker in 2017 was $126,587, which is more than double the average private sector wage of $60,000. 

If the Biden Administration refuses to reverse its problematic position, it should at least be transparent about its negotiations and provide necessary information to Congress, as is their duty. ATR applauds the bipartisan group of Senators for urging that the Administration be transparent and live up to their constitutional obligations.