Right to Health Care in the Regime of Patent Laws

The Impact of Patent Laws on Access to Health Care

Abstract

The laws dealing with patents seem to confront with health care measures on various issues like patenting the medical discoveries, the process of making drugs and the most pertinent issue is TRIPs obligations. Under these obligations the TRIPs require the WTO member governments to give copyright and patent protection for 20 years to a wide range of new products, including pharmaceutical goods. During this period, no one may use, make or sell a product without the owner's authorization. After the patent expires, other firms can sell "generic" versions of the product. It was contented that after a period of twenty years the composition of said drug or product might be out-dated and there is possibility of invention of new or better version of the medicine. Secondly, since the production of such a drug would be done only by one manufacturer so the price would certainly be higher.