infoJustice

Author: Muhammad Zaheer Abbas

Abstract: 3D printing technology offers promise in relation to much-needed health technologies associated with COVID-19. Additive manufacturing, which allows the rapid conversion of information from digital 3D models into physical objects, is uniquely well-positioned to address the shortage of critical medical devices by enabling the fabrication and repair of medical devices in a timely and cost-effective manner. This paper examines the issue of patent rights being at odds with access to critical 3D printable health technologies during COVID-19 crisis. It undertakes an in-depth analysis of the right to repair and calls for a clearer recognition of the right to repair exemption at the global level. It also evaluates the private and non-commercial use exception and proposes the use of a reasonably broad form of this exception to make it practically significant. It also considers the experimental use exception and calls upon WTO Member States to provide legislative clarity that a defence of an experimental use extends to repairs. This study is crucial because access to necessary health technologies, in a pandemic context, is a matter of life and death for millions of patients around the globe, especially for underprivileged patients in resource-constrained countries.

Citation: Muhammad Zaheer Abbas. Patent Law and 3D Printing Applications in Response to COVID-19: Exceptions to Inventor Rights. Journal of World Intellectual Property 1-18 (E-pub ahead of print). Available at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jwip.12224