Chattanooga Times Free Press

A PATENTLY WRONG MOVE

PORTO, Portugal — European Union leaders cranked up their criticism of the U.S. call to waive COVID-19 vaccine patents Saturday, arguing the move would yield no short-term or intermediate improvement in vaccine supplies and could even have a negative impact. — The Associated Press

It’s noteworthy when the European Union is giving lessons on the importance of private property.

The United States government, believe it or not, has decided to follow other governments from around the world to declare its support of removing patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines. The idea is that this will help poor countries get more COVID-19 vaccine shots. And soon the Biden administration will send the waiver request on intellectual property to the 164-member World Trade Organization, which has a history of doing this sort of thing in the past.

What could go wrong?

Plenty.

This is another case — in a long list of such cases — in which the road to hell is paved with good intentions. As the poet Virgil put it, the descent to hell is easy. For it’s easy to wish well for others. It’s another (and harder) to do well.

“Waiving patent protection” is a euphemism for confiscating private property. Before our friends on the left begin burning copies of “Atlas Shrugged” at the newspaper’s front door, think about the long-term consequences of such action.

First, it isn’t clear that granting these waivers would immunize more people any faster. Big Pharma says the problem is in supply chains, and there appears to be a shortage of supplies used to make these vaccines.

(Speaking of Big Pharma, some companies that make the vaccine have made it known that they wouldn’t pursue rivals for patent infringement in the case of COVID-19 shots. But that’s a choice that should be made at company headquarters, not in capitol buildings.)

Patents are private property. People, companies and industries invest money in order to acquire such patents. This is how the world spins.

All of society benefits from the innovation that comes when smart people make discoveries. Obviously innovation in the medical field benefits all mankind. Protecting private property is one of the pillars that keeps certain countries prosperous (along with the rule of law and liberty). You don’t have to look hard to find countries that don’t honor private property and the consequences for that. See Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Turkmenistan and their fellow travelers.

Leave it to Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, to put it plain: “The protection of intellectual property is a source of innovation and must remain so in the future.”

Several companies have made billions after developing the vaccine, sure. But in return, the rest of us get … a vaccine. And money encourages these companies to continue R&D, and hiring brilliant thinkers, and putting money at risk to find new cures. And when the next disease comes along threatening mankind, these companies will be elbowing each other, trying to find a vaccine first.

If certain countries, or their leaders, feel bad for poorer countries, then by all means they should do something. Such as paying for extra doses, and sending them abroad. They could put their money where their mouths, or at least hearts, are — instead of punishing those private companies that have risked so much (and spent so much) to develop these medicines.

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions” is a handy aphorism on frequent occasions when it comes to government work. So is this one: “Hell is full of good meaning, but heaven is full of good works.”

Let the medicine and research companies work. And let them profit. As the Good Book says, the laborer is worthy of his hire.

OPINION

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2021-05-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-05-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://edition.timesfreepress.com/article/281934545830106

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