A decrease in patent protection would be widely unpopular among voters

The Biden administration may soon endorse a proposal before the World Trade Organization (WTO) that would suspend patent protections on Covid-19 treatments and tests and, in doing so, thwart existing WTO standards. This move would be enormously unpopular with American voters, according to a new  released today by the Bayh-Dole Coalition.

Seven in ten voters believe that it is important for the Biden administration to preserve WTO standards for protecting IP. And 77% are at least slightly concerned that the pending proposal would stifle medical research and kill American manufacturing jobs.

“This poll clearly demonstrates that voters value intellectual property protections and oppose giving away U.S. intellectual property, especially to competitors like China,” said Joseph P. Allen, Executive Director of the Bayh-Dole Coalition.

Opposition to this waiver is bipartisan, with supermajorities of both Republicans and Democrats preferring political candidates who prioritize protecting American inventors’ IP rights.

“Voters expect U.S. officials to resist this misguided proposal which would undermine the American economy,” said Allen.