Presentation on OCP to the Internet Governance Forum

1. INTRODUCTION TO THE OPEN COVID
PLEDGE
IGF 2020 Pre-Event #74 Openness as a response to the crisis - open
digital initiatives in the time of the pandemic
Diane Peters, General Counsel, Creative Commons
November 5, 2020

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The Open Idea
• Researchers, scientists, lawyers,
companies, universities and others want to
accelerate solutions to Pandemic; IP rights
can be impediments
• Leverage open licenses practices and
community practices
• Speed solutions, reduce friction
• Open design principles & values
• public offer
• self-executing
• legal robust and enforceable
• scalable internationally
• standard
• time-limited*
• limited in scope of use*
Centers for Disease Control

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“We therefore pledge to make our intellectual property available
free of charge for use in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and
minimizing the impact of the disease.”
(April 7, 2020)
https://opencovidpledge.org/
Translations at https://opencovidpledge.org/the-pledge/
The Open COVID Pledge

4. 4
Patent Pledges Defined
• voluntary public commitments
• by holders of IP (patents or ©)
• to limit the enforcement or utilization
of patents or copyrighted-material
• without direct compensation
• accompanied (here) by an underlying
license

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Features of the Open COVID Pledge
• Pledge + License: can use standard OCL licenses or approved compatible or alternative licenses
• Type of IP: patents, copyrights (if elected) and other intellectual property (but not trademark or trade secrets), but IP which the pledgor
has the right to grant
• Payment: royalty free
• Field of use: for (at least) the purpose of ending the “COVID-19 pandemic” (as defined by the World Health Organization) and minimizing
the impact of the disease, including without limitation the diagnosis, prevention, containment, and treatment of COVID-19 (includes
research)
• Defensive suspension upon claim of infringement
• Sublicensing: No
• Time limited: December 1, 2019 to one year after WHO announces the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, or January 1, 2023, whichever
occurs first
• Special terms: waiver of exclusivity due to regulatory approval
• Governing law: none
• More permissions allowed: can always add more permissions, including extension of term

6. 6
OCP uptake, and as a source of inspiration
Coordinated Initiatives with the Open COVID Pledge
https://opencovidpledge.org/complementary-efforts/,
including Geno Concierge Kyoto
Stanford-MIT-Harvard Initiative (~24 universities)
Moderna Pledge
Upcoming efforts to create pledge for global warming
and climate change efforts
Open COVID Pledge Adopters OCP-Inspired Parallel Initiatives Based on Open Values

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What’s next?
• Expanded adoption, internationally
• Working with IGOs, e.g., C-TAP, on database
• Identifying and highlighting important IP,
connecting IP holders with IP seekers
• Sharing stories of impact
• Leveraging as a model for other crises

8. Photo by PhotoAtelier, CC BY
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Questions?diane@creativecommons.org

9. ocpinfo@creativecommons.org
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10. More Resources
Reading and Resources: https://opencovidpledge.org/about/
General Information: https://opencovidpledge.org/
News: https://opencovidpledge.org/category/news/
FAQs: https://opencovidpledge.org/faqs/
Connect
Follow on Twitter: #opencovidpledge
Join OCP on Slack: https://slack-signup.creativecommons.org/
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