3 ms·
Folk hold up pharmaceuticals as an example of the one industry where IP protections are vital. Stories like this really make me wonder about that.
by lotsofmangos 12y ago
Folk hold up pharmaceuticals as an example of the one industry where IP protections are vital. Stories like this really make me wonder about that.
- chc 12y agoHow does this story reflect on whether or not patents are vital to this industry? That seems a bit like reading a story about a drowning and saying, "This makes me wonder if water is really vital to human life." And I don't see how any of this reflects on other forms of intellectual property.
- lotsofmangos 12y agoIf IP disputes stop you using something when society as a whole really needs it, it doesn't really matter if the existence of IP was an efficient way of motivating the creators of that thing, as it is still effectively useless.
- csdrane 12y agoNow try replacing IP with personal property.
- lotsofmangos 12y agoPersonal property is subject to compulsory purchase all the time for municipal infrastructure and in times of emergency is subject to state requisition without compensation.
- dalke 12y agoPatent law already covers this case. TRIPS Agreement, article 31b allows "society as a whole" to use a patent without even contacting the patent holder "in the case of a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency or in cases of public non-commercial use."
- rhino369 12y agoIt's not really intellectual property that is the issue, it is the contract Canada signed with the company. It's really no different than if Canada contracted with a food distributor and the distributor was dragging its feet. The issue there wouldn't be food property rights, it's picking the shitty distributor.