Brazil takes controversial step towards breaking Covid patents

As Brazil surpassed the grim landmark of 400,000 coronavirus-related deaths, the Senate floor passed a bill that would temporarily lift patents on Covid-19 vaccines, tests, and drugs for as long as the pandemic lasts. If signed into law, it would force patent holders to hand all information necessary for the production of Covid-19 vaccines and drugs over to public authorities. “The goal is to speed up vaccination rollouts to allow the country to return to some sort of normalcy before the end of the year,” the bill’s rapporteur, Senator Nelsinho Trad, told The Brazilian Report.

But opponents of the bill say it could lead Brazil to breach international agreements it has previously signed — something that would add to the international scorn the country has faced in light of failures in managing both the pandemic and the environment.

The bill modifies a 1996 law regulating rights and obligations relating to industrial property. It states that the temporary lifting of patents in Covid-19 vaccines and drugs could be granted in the case of a state of national calamity, or if the patent holder “does not meet the requirements of a national emergency or public interest.”

According to Mr. Trad, the temporary, mandatory patent break would only be permitted to public institutions, civil society organizations, and private companies that have the economic capacity to produce vaccines or medication, products that could then be exported to other countries in need. The patent holders would receive remuneration for...