Intellectual property (IP) has been a hot topic due to the Biden administration’s support of a proposal to waive the World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) for COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. Some argue IP protections incentivized vaccine manufacturers to produce what are now the world’s antidotes to the pandemic. But others say these protections are slowing down global vaccination and distribution rates — especially in the developing world. Why did the administration take this stance, and what might this signal about its approach to other IP issues?

On this episode, Shane is joined by AEI Adjunct Fellow Michael Rosen — a frequent author on IP-related incentives for innovation, and on patent reform in Congress and at the US Patent and Trademark Office. He joins the podcast to discuss the state of IP policy, what the administration’s TRIPS waiver stance means for the future of innovation and public health, and how this issue acts as a proxy for the challenges of IP innovation in technology.