Canon joins COVID-19 Countermeasure Declaration to combat virus

Canon Inc. announced that the company, in order to help bring a swift end to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), has joined the COVID-19 Countermeasure Declaration as a founding member. According to this declaration, Canon has pledged not to enforce its intellectual property rights against development, manufacturing and other activities whose purpose is stopping the spread of COVID-19.

In order to stop the spread of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for business, government and academia to overcome existing barriers and join forces, free from established mindsets, to accelerate development and manufacturing in such fields as therapeutic drugs, vaccines, medical devices and infection control products.

Entities who become signatories of the COVID-19 Countermeasure Declaration pledge that they will not assert their patents, utility models, designs or copyrights during the time of this crisis against any activities whose purpose is stopping the spread of COVID-19, including diagnosis, prevention, containment and treatment.

By eliminating the need for complicated, time-consuming analysis of intellectual property rights of the declarers and license negotiations for such intellectual property rights, this declaration clears the way for the fastest possible means of research, development and manufacture of the most effective tools to combat the spread of COVID-19.

A large number of entities possessing substantial patent portfolio and industry organizations have joined the declaration in response to the invitation by Professor Fumihiko Matsuda of Kyoto University and Canon. The founding members of the declaration welcome other intellectual property rights owners to join them and further contribute to the goal of halt the spread of COVID-19.