There is a lot of discussion globally about intellectual property and COVID. In particular, less developed countries lack access to vaccines and do not currently have the ability to start making their own version of the leading vaccines that have been developed.

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This is often couched as a patent issue, but it is really a technology transfer (knowhow) issue.

Patents are territorial (country-by-country). There are currently no issued patents in any less-developed country that would prevent people from making/using the vaccines there.
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And, even if there was a patent, the countries have WTO rights to steamroll the patent in a public health crisis, such as COVID.

It is not a patent issue -- Nobody is stopping India from making a vaccine; Its just that the people with the knowhow are not helping.

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The problem is technology-transfer and "knowhow:"

Vaccine developers and manufacturers have secret knowledge about how they manufacture the vaccines. This knowledge is layers deep: making, storing, testing, avoiding contamination, ingredients, etc...

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The companies are refusing to tell the world how they do it. (In full detail, or really in much detail at all). The companies want the money and Courts have seen compelled-speech as an extreme measure in most situations. (But, this particular issue has not gone to court).

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Much (but almost certainly not all) of the knowhow is also known by governments. The US and European governments (and others) are refusing to share the detailed information globally.

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The developing countries are asking governments in-the-know to tell how it is made, and also to compel their corporate 'citizens' with knowledge to disclose the knowhow.

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Part of the US justification for saying "no" is expertise and safety - arguing that no factory in India or China could be sufficient. But both countries are known to have well developed pharmaceutical capabilities. Other justifications that might carry more or less weight.

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The real underlying issue though has to come back to the global balance of power, including the economic might of the US and European Pharmaceutical industry. So far, the US has not been willing to put those issues at risk.

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The bottom line of this series is that patent rights are not (currently) the issue.

Rather: We have a demand for disclosure of "Knowhow" -- information stored in corporate and government files. And we have refusals to disclose.

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