On May 1, Canon Inc. announced that it has joined the COVID-19 Countermeasure Declaration as a founding member to help bring a rapid end to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Pursuant to this Declaration, Canon has undertaken not to enforce its intellectual property rights against development, manufacturing and other processes if their purpose is to stop the spread of COVID-19.
In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, it is imperative that business, government and academia overcome existing barriers and join forces free from established ways of thinking. This is necessary to accelerate the development and production of therapeutic drugs, vaccines, medical devices and infection control products.
Signatories of the Declaration on Countermeasures COVID-19 undertake not to assert their patents, utility models, designs or copyrights during the period of this crisis against methods whose aim is to stop the spread of COVID-19, including by diagnosis, prevention, containment and treatment.
By eliminating a complicated and time-consuming analysis of the intellectual property rights of applicants and the licensing negotiations for those rights, this Declaration paves the way for the fastest possible research, development and production of the most effective tools to combat the spread of COVID-19.
At the invitation of Professor Fumihiko Matsuda of Kyoto University and Canon, a large number of industrial organisations and organisations with a significant patent portfolio have joined the Declaration. The founding members of the Declaration welcome other holders of intellectual property rights to join them and further contribute to the goal of stopping the spread of COVID-19.
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