Trump Urged to Limit Patent Rights on Ventilators, Treatments

Medical device makers and scientists around the world are waiving their intellectual property rights to encourage companies to restore depleted stockpiles of emergency equipment and develop new tests and treatments for the Covid-19 pandemic.

But it might not be enough.

Some researchers and lawmakers are calling on President Donald Trump to follow the lead of Germany and Israel in restricting patent rights for work on coronavirus treatments.

“When the lives of a significant population of a country are at stake, it is the inherent sovereign right of a government to override private property rights to protect the lives and health ...