Editor's letter July/August 2021

Maura O’Malley, IPM

I attended a Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys webinar onpatents in a pandemic recently. The panel consistedof two leading vaccine scientists: University College Cork’s Anne Moore andImperial College London’s Robin Shattock. One would expect the IP community tosupport IP rights, but I was struck by how these two independent scientists vociferouslydefended patents. They believed the proposed IP waiver at the World TradeOrganization would not speed up the roll out in lower-income countries, see p12of the issue for further in-depth analysis.