tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post3394641608125078510..comments2024-03-28T16:45:51.051+00:00Comments on The IPKat: Biotech inventions: controversies, case law, uncertainties and financingVerónica RodrÃguez Arguijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05763207846940036921noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-61400308800318819622015-10-02T15:38:00.257+01:002015-10-02T15:38:00.257+01:00I hope that at last the UK can properly debate whe...I hope that at last the UK can properly debate whether to have compulsory licencing for important pharmaceuticals: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/01/reuters-america-call-for-britain-to-over-ride-patents-on-roche-cancer-drug.htmlCompulsory Licencingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-32734094960653170852015-01-13T15:37:36.643+00:002015-01-13T15:37:36.643+00:00Anonymous @ 15:14,
Your rejection is itself rejec...Anonymous @ 15:14,<br /><br />Your rejection is itself rejected.<br /><br />Open your eyes and witness history.<br /><br />The Pollyanna "Gee, let's be good for goodness sake" may be inspirational, but to ignore the reality of the human condition is simply not forgivable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-75992941545124900772015-01-13T15:14:16.421+00:002015-01-13T15:14:16.421+00:00In response to anonymous of 13:48 I disagree with...In response to anonymous of 13:48 I disagree with your version of 'human nature' and your philosophy of 'greed is good'. Human ingenuity is capable of much more. It is capable of changing things. What is morally correct does matter and there are people capable of translating that into moral action.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-55584515669220977602015-01-13T13:48:22.377+00:002015-01-13T13:48:22.377+00:00In response to the anonymous responder to Sophist,...In response to the anonymous responder to Sophist, <br /><br />It is just not that direct and easy.<br /><br />World becoming "more democratic" ignores the very real fact that individual sovereign nations are every bit entrenched as they have been, and that the "we are all in this" line of thinking, while indeed noble, is rather Pollyanna when it comes to disparate resource and profit gathering. <br /><br />Yes there are vested interests - as there has ALWAYS been vested interests. The identity of vested interests may morph and change over time, but you are only fooling yourself if you believe that this world is evolving to that "Power of the People" (dare I say communist) model where idealism such as yours will be able to be achieved. That model has failed - and failed gloriously - because one cannot ignore basic human nature, and basic human nature does include selfish and yes sometimes self-defeating tendencies.<br /><br />Rather, the better model, the model that has yielded more progress, is the model of Adam Smith's Invisible Hand.<br /><br />To paraphrase (and slightly morph) the classic movie <i>Wall Street</i>'s Gordon Gekko, Greed is good, or at least should be recognized as a real force and put to good use.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-9151142073352852452015-01-13T10:12:44.220+00:002015-01-13T10:12:44.220+00:00In response to Sophist, whether we choose to do no...In response to Sophist, whether we choose to do nothing will depend how unsatisfactory we believe the present situation to be. Vested interests, those making huge profits, those in power would not want the system to change. However as the world becomes more democratic more people will want their voices heard, and then perhaps real change will happen to lessen the suffering of those who are victims of the present state of affairs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-34699826720358132062015-01-12T20:28:14.073+00:002015-01-12T20:28:14.073+00:00Great post here Sophist - and mirrors to a some de...Great post here Sophist - and mirrors to a some degree the current thread on the morality/ethics issues affecting biotech patenting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-37522508033752717422015-01-12T19:34:27.609+00:002015-01-12T19:34:27.609+00:00Manach - why do you think He isn't?
More fund...Manach - why do you think He isn't?<br /><br />More fundamentally, why are biotech inventions to be treated differently from others? Is it because it's wrong to make a profit out of preventing people suffering (or to make a profit at all)? Is it because it adds to inequality (between those who are treated and those who aren't)? Or is it contended that we can devise a system that will produce more new drugs and treat more people at lower expense? The conviction that such a system must exist is understandable - but before we adopt it, we should have a working example. And we may wish to apply to that some rationally refined version of the Precautionary Principle (e.g., some assurance that overall it won't do more harm than good).Sophistnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-2249017767227376582015-01-05T16:55:42.754+00:002015-01-05T16:55:42.754+00:00Dear anonymous american,
you are not alone and you...Dear anonymous american,<br />you are not alone and you position is also shared by many of us across the pond. Do not let the minority view posted on this website on this particular issue as well as many others, shape your view of the view of Euoropeans, or at least those in the UK.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-59283680560480088302015-01-05T14:35:46.800+00:002015-01-05T14:35:46.800+00:00To Anonymous @ 13:23,
Perhaps it is my "ugly...To Anonymous @ 13:23,<br /><br />Perhaps it is my "ugly American" coming through, but the thought of compulsory licensing is anathema to me.<br /><br />Our legal system (US law) reserves this avenue only to the strictest of emergencies. It is NOT something that I would advocate as a general panacea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-1776620968157586422015-01-05T13:23:44.649+00:002015-01-05T13:23:44.649+00:00To anon@12.23 freedom to operate does get more dif...To anon@12.23 freedom to operate does get more difficult as people file more applications in an area. However a better solution is compulsory licencing (See section 50 of the UK Patents Act)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-90683812410276176642015-01-05T13:06:14.614+00:002015-01-05T13:06:14.614+00:00The main problem with the biotech drugs is their c...The main problem with the biotech drugs is their cost. Humira may have hit the top spot in sales (cash), but it is way down the list for number of prescriptions.<br /><br />There is room and a need for both small molecule drugs and biotech drugs and pharma companies mustn't walk away from the former.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-67353487901544144392015-01-05T12:23:37.669+00:002015-01-05T12:23:37.669+00:00In response to Anonymous of 12:05 I do think that ...In response to Anonymous of 12:05 I do think that as a sector matures it's helpful for patent rights to get narrower/weaker. Of course increasing prior art means that is going to happen, but I think also that Examiner's become savvier at granting the most appropriate scope of claim with increasing experience of a sector, more unconsciously than consciously. I believe that helps all players that are innovating at the time. The US Supreme Court is essentially doing this its recent Myriad and Alice decision which may be for the same reasons.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-73041195279590721482015-01-05T12:20:38.113+00:002015-01-05T12:20:38.113+00:00Perhaps God might be assigned the ultimate rights ...Perhaps God might be assigned the ultimate rights holder for any biotech related IPR work. This might curb the hubris of the more speculative prophets of profits within this sector.Manachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06212613732563252238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-88096458871174138872015-01-05T12:05:01.075+00:002015-01-05T12:05:01.075+00:00Anonymous @ 10:09,
I do not understand what your ...Anonymous @ 10:09,<br /><br />I do not understand what your version of "serve the sector better" means.<br /><br />From my reading, it appears that you mean that a weaker patent right is better for the entrenched players - a direct spinoff of the Infringers' Rights motif.<br /><br />That cannot be correct.<br /><br />Do you ascribe to the notion that improvement patents are somehow qualitatively different than a type of Flash of Genius ground-breaking patent? That for "the good of <i>somebody</i>" that protections should be less?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-30240038088556153112015-01-05T10:09:41.648+00:002015-01-05T10:09:41.648+00:00There's no doubt EPO Examiners are becoming st...There's no doubt EPO Examiners are becoming stricter for biotech inventions. However that's probably a good thing. As the sector develops and more and more actual products are sold, leading to more litigation, the purpose of filing patent applications will change from being used to bring in investment to covering what companies are selling. Narrower claims will then suit the sector better.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5574479.post-62799766588852151652015-01-04T11:59:35.629+00:002015-01-04T11:59:35.629+00:00Thanks for this very interesting blog. I am lookin...Thanks for this very interesting blog. I am looking Forward to reading the further issues announced.Raoulnoreply@blogger.com