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How is this supposed to work really? The President is not above the law (as Justice Kagan famously put it 2 years ago). He can't just suspend the patent law. He
by credit_guy 6y ago
How is this supposed to work really? The President is not above the law (as Justice Kagan famously put it 2 years ago). He can't just suspend the patent law. He can ask the Congress to revoke the law, but that would be going forward, it would not act retroactively (as per the Article 1 of the Constitution). Let's just say the President issues some type of Executive Order to overrule the patent protections for the Covid vaccines. Would the companies not sue? Would they not go all the way to the Supreme Court? Would all the courts agree with the President that he can just make the law go poof when he feels there is a moral obligation to do so?
- tssva 6y agoThe patent waiver doesn't require any Congressional changes to US patent law or require the President to unilaterally overrule US patent laws. US patent law only covers patents in the US. The US and almost all other countries are in the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO has an agreement called TRIPS which covers IP requirements of member states. Part of the requirements of TRIPS is that most member states have to reciprocate patent rights for patents issued by other member states. The WTO can waive this requirement with a vote of the WTO General Council. This is what is being proposed and Biden has declared that the US now supports doing so. This is completely within his powers as President.
- credit_guy 6y agoThank you for the explanation.