Reconsidering best mode disclosures in the COVID-19 era

Global IP

By Doris Estelle Long

Doris Estelle Long is the president of Doris Long Consulting, specializing in U.S. and international IPR and information security issues; a screenwriter and producer for VeraKen Productions; and a law professor emeritus at The John Marshall Law School. She has served as a consultant on IPR issues for diverse U.S. and foreign government agencies, including as attorney adviser in the Office of Legislative and International Affairs of the USPTO. She can be reached at prof.doris.long@gmail.com.

Posted October 22, 2020 11:55 AM

It is axiomatic that the patent system will change as a result of the current global pandemic. Countries have already rewritten patent exclusivities to assure greater access for their citizens to life-saving treatments for COVID-19.As I detailed in my April 23 column, these changes have included expanded compulsory-license and gray-market-import rights for patented drugs. Present data exclusivities over clinical test data will undoubtedly follow suit. (See my Aug. 12 column.) One additional change that we need to consider …

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