What? There was no polio vaccine patent. The inventor literally did exactly what I suggested. He made his work freely available so that it could not be patented. Volvo made a business decision to make their patent freely usable and we are still talking about it. Their brand has been permanently associated with safety because of it.

[–] Perroboc 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Exactly! They tried to patent it, but it didn’t meet the requirements (https://www.ipeg.com/jonas-salk-inventor-of-the-polio-vaccine-could-you-patent-the-sun).

Notice how they tried to patent it “to prevent companies from making unlicensed, low-quality versions of the vaccine. There is no sign that the foundation intended to profit from a patent on the polio vaccine.”

EDIT: and on the other hand, you get things like insulin, where the patent was sold for $1 (https://www.vox.com/2019/4/3/18293950/why-is-insulin-so-expensive)