Business | A shot in the arm

America wants to waive patent protection for vaccines

But it will not have an immediate effect on supplies

|WASHINGTON, DC

AMERICA HAS long been the global protector-in-chief of intellectual property. But on May 5th it sought to tear up the rule book. “The extraordinary circumstances of the covid-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures,” said Katherine Tai, the United States Trade Representative. To help battle the pandemic, the administration of President Joe Biden said it supported waiving some intellectual-property protections for vaccines. Jaws dropped—along with the share prices of vaccinemakers.

This article appeared in the Business section of the print edition under the headline “A shot in the arm”

Govcoins: The digital currencies that will transform finance

From the May 8th 2021 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Business

Overlapping  shadows of Donald Trump, a man and a women

Corporate America’s diversity wars are just getting started

Donald Trump’s attacks on DEI are causing huge headaches for bosses

Larry Ellison’s face feeding a sand timer with some planet and stars elements above. Two small figures on the right of the it looking scared.

What Elon Musk should learn from Larry Ellison

The founder of Oracle has demonstrated remarkable staying power


Kylian Mbappe of Real Madrid dribbles the ball during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Real Valladolid v Real Madrid.

Football clubs are making more money than ever. Players not so much

For both teams and their top stars, it helps to have a brand


The allure of the company town

Lego, Corning and the survival of an old idea

From cribs to carriers, high-end baby products are in vogue

Demographic and technological changes are making infancy more expensive

No one gains from American tariffs on cars from Mexico and Canada

Donald Trump’s levy will hit his country’s carmakers hardest