Mazda and Mitsubishi also waive IP rights to help fight COVID-19

MANILA: Mazda and Mitsubishi join Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Isuzu in a consortium along with several public and private institutions to lend relevant intellectual property (IP) for free to assist in stopping the spread of the COVID-19.

Called "Open Access COVID-19," it is a new kind of cooperation that was formed in early April 2020 between industry, government and academia to break the molds of traditional models and accelerate the rapid development, manufacture and distribution of therapeutic drugs, vaccines, medical devices, infection control products, software solutions and the like are central to stopping the spread of contagion.

The group had 22 declarers in early May. Today it has 64 and together have declared 769,067 patents IP-free. Majority of the declarers signed up without any restrictions to the IP that they’ve shared, while several have specified restrictions to their participation. Click this link to see the list of declarers.

Other companies who wish to join can do so by simply signing the COVID-19 Countermeasures Declaration, which is available in English and Japanese. It states that the declarer, from the date the document is signed until the World Health Organization announces that the outbreak is no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, will give up claims over any and all of its patents, designs, and copyright.

Also read: Toyota, Nissan, Honda, and Isuzu waive IP rights to help fight COVID-19