Stand: 2022. since 19. January 2026 gilt zudem eine EU-weite Regelung für Zwangslizenzen in Krisenfällen – mehr dazu in unserem Beitrag SEP regulation stopped, Compulsory licenses introduced.

Patent protection for Covid vaccines is being relaxed: patent consequences

Pharmaceutical manufacturers in developing countries can therefore use the patented technology of companies like Biontech more easily, to produce their own corona vaccinations. Countries like South Africa and India were already demanding in 2020, temporarily suspend patent protection for the COVID vaccine, to rapidly expand manufacturing worldwide and improve supplies to poor countries. Because while rich countries have sufficient dose even for the booster vaccination, there is not even enough vaccine elsewhere for all risk groups.

In short, The states in Europe have now come to a compromise. The EU proposal boiled down to this, to simplify compulsory licenses: a government, can then force a patentee like Biontech, allow a local manufacturer to use the patent. The patent owner receives a small compensation and thus has an incentive, to help the new manufacturer ramp up production.

However, there is also a lot of criticism on this subject.

On the website of vfa. can be read

“The development of vaccines is partly based on decades of preparatory work. It was mainly private investors and companies, who took the financial risk, to further develop scientific knowledge and bring new technologies to market maturity. They did this with the view, that their intellectual property is protected by patents and that their investments are given a chance, to amortize. The argument, “the State” actually financed everything, does not stand up to scrutiny precisely for this reason: State funds have only flowed in on a larger scale, as indicated, that the vaccines would work - and should push production.”

Now what does this mean “relaxation” from a patent perspective? Changes the registration process for the patenting of other vaccines for the pharmaceutical industry, medicines etc.? Contact horak law office. Lawyers partnership mbB. We are happy to answer your questions.