Erica Penfold, South African Institute of International Affairs
The generic drug industry has become essential to developing countries that need access to cheaper drugs to treat their heavy burdens of communicable diseases.
Founded in 1790, the Patent Office aimed to put innovation and entrepreneurship within reach of every citizen. Now, 10 million patents later, critics say an out-of-touch system is doing the opposite.
Getting a patent isn’t the only possible box to check when it comes to protecting IP.
Woman image via www.shutterstock.com.
When academics come up with a viable innovation, they need to figure out the best way to protect their intellectual property if they’re going to bring it to market. Patents aren’t always the answer.
Nobody loves patent trolls. But new legislation in Congress aimed at the trolls isn’t necessary, since the effects of recent patent reforms are only starting to be felt.
Innovators might be stifled if fees for patents rise too high.
European Patent Office European Inventor Award/Flickr
Rising fees for patents could stifle innovation in Australia. So what how much should we charge for patents?
If the proposals are agreed, they could delay the market entry of generic medicines in the region – and the impact will be felt around the world.
Jeng_Niamwhan
Seven rounds of negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership have already taken place with virtually no public debate. The next round of negotiations begins today in Kyoto, Japan.
Now that’s inventive! Spotted at Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers.
Flickr/Len Matthews
Though no magic bullet, bedaquiline has provided rich lessons about the challenges posed in global efforts to curb the TB epidemic.
If you’re in favor of copyright extensions – and aren’t a corporation holding the rights or a descendent of the original author – you probably need some sense knocked into you.
Flickr
In 1998, if Congress hadn’t extended copyrights by 20 years, George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind would all be in the public domain…
The proposed Australian price for Sovaldi has not been disclosed, but in the United States a three-month course of treatment costs US$84,000.
Stuart Hamilton/Flickr
It’s twice as common as type 1 diabetes. It kills more Australians than HIV. One in every 100 of us lives with hepatitis C, but the disease receives little attention. Worldwide, around 150 million people…
Patents have exploded in number in recent years, thanks largely to our lax standards for issuing them.
www.shutterstock.com
Ten years on from the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement, Australia is entering another round of negotiations towards the new and controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership. In this Free Trade Scorecard series…
Will anyone jump on the Tesla patent bandwagon?
raneko/Flickr
With the much-anticipated arrival next month of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla’s Model S to Australian shores, it’s a good time to revisit Tesla’s pledge to freely share patents. Elon Musk, co-founder…
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane (right) wants universities to be more supportive of industry, but without significant funding into research and development, that’s a big ask.
AAP
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane let his discretion slip this week in a speech to the Queensland Media Club when foreshadowing an upcoming report on research funding and competition. Distancing himself…
Research is a public good in itself, not only for the benefit of creating jobs and economic prosperity.
Flickr/International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
Forcing research and innovation to fit corporate needs exclusively sounds like a pretty blunt way to govern how public funds are awarded and used in universities. Granted, in a political environment touting…