> The companies would be fine, but it would probably severely limit the availability of life-saving drugs in poorer countries. One can argue that on the whole,

> The companies would be fine, but it would probably severely limit the availability of life-saving drugs in poorer countries. One can argue that on the whole, that's a worse outcome. Not really - countries like China and India don't recognize US (or European) pharmaceutical patents to begin with, so they're not bound to purchasing brand-name drugs from the original manufacturer.