Though people often don’t connect the two, collective action is required to minimize the effects of COVID-19 and stop patent abuse. We at Unified are doing our part to help further both, starting with the following:

First, Unified launched a crowd-sourced prior art campaign against two ex-Theranos patents recently asserted by Laborador Diagnostics, LLC, a Fortress Investment Group / Softbank Group subsidiary, against makers of COVID testing kits—an ongoing effort located here. Diagnostics companies play a crucial role in combating COVID-19. Fortress has a demonstrated record of asserting invalid patents across industries, and has now targeted U.S. diagnostics makers. We believe deterring invalid patent assertions is essential to ensuring U.S. companies are focused on beating back the current scourge and saving lives.

Second, we have joined the Open Covid Pledge, as initiated by a group of scientists and legal professionals, including Professors Mark Lemley and Jorge Contreras. The pledge asks participants to make all intellectual property under their control available for use to treat or end COVID-19, free of charge and without encumbrances. Details and simple instructions on how to join can be found on their website.

We urge all entities, practicing and non-practicing alike, to join us in pledging to reduce patent abuse and to accelerate the chances we can eliminate COVID-19.

A copy of our pledge can be found at www.unifiedpatents.com/open-covid-pledge.