IBM Pledge to Make IP Freely Available to Combat COVID-19

IBM is a pledgor and founding adopter of the Open COVID Pledge[1] to help fight COVID-19. According to target 3.8 UN[2] it is essential to achieve universal health coverage, including access to safe, effective, quality, and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all[3].

IBM held its long-time place as the top recipient of U.S. patents in 2020 with 9,130 inventions.[4] IBM is granting free access to its intellectual property, including AI patents and active U.S. patents in the biological viruses area as well as Watson tech patents to help contain SarsCov2.[5]

The IBM pledge and open licensing can help to fight the onslaught of COVID-19 by making more than 80.000 patents[6] available free of charge while mobilizing AI patents to spur innovation worldwide.

Open licensing pledges are fundamental in order to stimulate research and development so that scientists can deliver fast. This will contribute to preventing the spread of COVID-19 and maintaining health care systems through more innovation so that IP do not become a barrier in this pandemic[7].

This will also help to reach the UN goal[8] provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all by 2030[9]. IBM open COVID pledge is making IP and patents freely available, is helping in the fight against Sars-CoV-2, and to achieve universal health coverage and other firms should do so as soon as possible to end or minimize the impact of COVID-19[10].

[1] https://opencovidpledge.org/partners/ [2] https://sdg-tracker.org/good-health [3] https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/governments-push-for-universal-health-coverage-as-covid-19-continues-to-devastate-communities-and-economies [4] https://fortune.com/2021/01/12/ibm-most-patents-2020-full-rankings/ [5] https://www.ibm.com/blogs/research/2020/04/IBM-patent-portfolio-access-combat-covid-19/ [6] https://newsroom.ibm.com/index.php?s=34178&item=31937 [7] https://covid19.who.int/table [8] https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/access-to-covid-19-tools-(act)-accelerator [9] https://opencovidpledge.org/the-pledge/ [10] https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/news-centre/news/2020/UN_agencies_launch_Tech_Access_Partnership_in_joint_effort_to_scale_up_local_production_of_life-saving_health_technologies_for_COVID-19.html