Weak Patent System a Public Health Risk

How does a weak patent system affect ordinary people? There's more to IP laws than protecting companies so they can make a profit. Of course part of building a strong intellectual property rights (IPR) system is supporting businesses within your jurisdiction (i.e. country) but that doesn't necessarily apply if the business in question of part of big pharma. So how does protecting the interests of even the big companies help us?

Startup Financing – Smaller companies benefit from ood IPR legislation because, if their discoveries are protected, they are more likely to have one of the key criteria among what venture investors are looking for, security for the future. This makes it easier to obtain venture funding to take their products to market.

Legal Empowerment – Why create laws that border officials and law enforcement officers can't enforce? This is part of having a strong IPR system that might be easily overlooked. The laws protecting IP need to come hand-in-hand with strong enforcement practices and adequate consequences to deter non-compliance.

Public Safety – How many of us wouldn't buy the "generic" brand to save a little cash? Counterfeit drugs are everywhere. Preventing knock-off drugs, whether imported or domestic, that might not contain the proper ingredients, or have the right stuff mixed in the wrong amounts is important to public protection.