Covid Test Swabs Not Shielded from Patent Liability, Court Rules

The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act can’t protect a maker of swabs used for Covid-19 testing against claims of patent infringement, a federal judge ruled.

The 2005 law provided a defense against product liability-type claims, but doesn’t shield Puritan Medical Products Co. from Copan Italia SpA’s patent infringement allegations over flocked swabs it made for the US Air Force as the country ramped up testing capacity to respond to the pandemic, Judge Stacey D. Neumann wrote in a July 25 opinion.

“PREP Act immunity is primarily concerned with shielding claims that arise from physical harm,” Neumann wrote. The term ...