Patents – Antitrust, Compulsory Licensing and Research Exceptions

Patents – Antitrust, Compulsory Licensing and Research Exceptions
Anselm Kamperman Sanders

ISBN 9789041199263
Kluwer Law International

The protection of investment in R&D, and access to cheap pharmaceuticals has been the subject of international trade disputes for years.1 As we try to move towards a convergence of markets, the strains of divergence in standards of health care demonstrate that the health crises in developing countries is a time-bomb ticking away at the foundations of international relations, economic development, and the patent system. The AIDS drugs war fought between major drugs companies and the Government of South Africa suddenly captured the imagination of the general public. It has brought home that drugs companies prefer to target the backpacker generation rather than developing nations when it comes to other much-needed medication for diseases such as encephalitis, malaria and tuberculosis.