Jonas Salk became one of the most respected scientists of the twentieth century not only because he helped develop the first successful polio vaccine, but also because he chose not to seek a patent for it.

 

Jonas Salk became one of the most respected scientists of the twentieth century not only because he helped develop the first successful polio vaccine, but also because he chose not to seek a patent for it.

In 1955, shortly after the vaccine's success was announced, journalist Edward R. Murrow asked Salk a simple question during a television interview: who owned the patent? Salk's response would become one of the most famous statements in medical history.

"Well, the people, I would say. There is no patent. Could you patent the sun?"

At the time, polio was one of the world's most feared diseases, affecting hundreds of thousands of people every year and leaving many children with lifelong disabilities. The vaccine represented a major breakthrough in public health and helped dramatically reduce cases around the world.

The vaccine's development was supported by extensive public and charitable funding, particularly through the March of Dimes. Because so many organizations and researchers contributed to the effort, questions about patent ownership were complicated from both legal and ethical perspectives.

A popular claim says Salk gave up billions of dollars by not patenting the vaccine. Historians caution that this figure is impossible to verify because no patent was ever pursued.