We Support the Open COVID Pledge

The Distributed Design Platform has made public our support of the Open COVID Pledge, which aims to help remove barriers to intellectual property and underscores efforts to use technology to help businesses and communities during our global time of need.

We support the pledge in recognition of the need to make intellectual property available free of charge for use in ending the COVID-19 pandemic and minimising the impact of the disease. As Distributed Design Platform, we specifically voice support for the impact open licences can have on empowering young and independent makers and designers to contribute to the domestic-scale production efforts being taken to minimise the impact of the pandemic at a regional, national and international level.

Who is behind the Pledge?

The Open COVID Pledge calls on organizations around the world to make their patents and copyrights freely available in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pledge was originally developed by an international group of researchers, scientists, academics and lawyers seeking to accelerate the rapid development and deployment of diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics, medical equipment, and software solutions in this urgent public health crisis. The project is now led and stewarded by Creative Commons, the nonprofit that helps overcome legal obstacles to the sharing of knowledge and creativity to address the world’s pressing challenges.

We are proud to be engaged with this international alliance and even more humbled to have one of the Founders of the pledge, Jorge L. Contreras, JD and Creative Commons represented in this year’s forthcoming Distributed Design book.