Stephen T. Kong Quoted in Associations Now Article, 'Sharing Is Caring: How the Tech Industry Is Easing Patents for the COVID-19 Era'
Stephen T. Kong, a partner in the Corporate and Securities Practice Group of Pepper Hamilton, was quoted in the April 27, 2020 Associations Now article, " Sharing Is Caring: How the Tech Industry Is Easing Patents for the COVID-19 Era."
There are some complicating factors to make this all work—we are talking patents, after all. In an analysis of the pledge and its stakeholders, Stephen Kong of the law firm Pepper Hamilton LLP wrote that some of the companies taking part in the endeavor are not specifically using the license created for the Open COVID Pledge, but a separate license in the spirit of the pledge, something IBM and Intel have both done.
"The offer of these licenses from pledging companies is generous, but certain limitations and lack of clarity about the legal effect of certain terms for the licensing scheme require that companies carefully consider several elements before accepting the offered licenses," Kong wrote.