« USPTO ONLINE INDEPENDENT INVENTOR RESOURCE | Main | EUROPEAN UNION RESTRICTS ONCOGENE MOUSE PATENT »

July 24, 2004

HEATED RHETORIC: ALTERNATE VIEWPOINT ON DRUG PATENTS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS

Although I am ardent supporter of the patent system in general and pharmaceutical/drug patents in particular, I don't want this Blawg to become truly one sided and blind to other arguments.

An online newspaper in India has an interesting article outlining some of the concerns of advocates in developing nations have about patent drugs. The rhetoric should continue to ratchet up in the next several months:

...as the transitional period of ten years, given to the developing nations to conform to the TRIPs agreement, ends on December 31, 2004, opening up the pharmaceutical sector to 'product patent' regime which gives exclusive rights to the inventor to use and sell his product, patented since 1995 for a period of 20 years. Contrary to this, India had been following a system of 'process patent', which gave right to the domestic pharmaceutical companies to manufacture a product patented elsewhere by employing slighter changes in the process of manufacture which do not amount to infringement. This permitted the local companies to research and develop cheaper 'generic' variants of the original drug suiting the country's economic and internal needs.

Interesting read for an alternative perspective.

Posted by Douglas Sorocco at 01:49 AM.
Permalink: HEATED RHETORIC: ALTERNATE VIEWPOINT ON DRUG PATENTS IN DEVELOPING NATIONS
| Sphere: Related Content