South China Morning Post: Preserve patent rights that help make pandemic life bearable by Andy Sherman
Sophisticated, internet-enabled audiovisual technologies, once a niche reserved for gamers and videophiles, have been gaining mainstream acceptance for some time, but the outbreak of Covid-19 kicked adoption into overdrive.
Now, grandparents use videoconferencing to show up for birthdays. Students live-stream their classes, and doctors rely on smartphones to examine their patients remotely. At the end of the day, many of us relax with streaming services such as Netflix.
Today, internet-enabled audiovisual tech isn’t just everywhere – it’s essential. Without thinking much about it, most people figure we are lucky to have had such advanced technology when the pandemic broke out.
But luck has nothing to do with it. Patents and patent licensing helped these technologies meet the moment. As we emerge from the pandemic, policymakers should recognise how the patent marketplace helped countless people and businesses survive and even thrive.