Mark writes: >Karl Doesn't mean they like the idea of a limited patent anymore than we like the limited copyright time. >Its no more fair to them, but that doesn't mean they sit around and pout. Instead they up the price so >they feel like they get fairly compensated. just saying, ownership laws aren't just geared toward protecting the big player, and pharmecuetical companies were about as big as I could think of >You mentioned the drug companies, but that patent is only 17 years. In 17 years they not only have to recoup the cost of developing the drug, proving it works, and >getting it approved, they must pay for the cost of all those they attempted to develop that didn't work which is almost all of them. They never produce a nickel. Once in a >while they get a bit lucky. While researching a drug for a potential heart medication they found an interesting side effect. The little blue pill was the result and it was >found totally by accident and has been a financial bonanza. It also only has a few more years left on patent. not sure which pill that is you're referring to, but again it's not that different to the photographer spending years honing skills, producing countless images to get the one or two great sellers. >A longer patent would allow drug companies to spread those cost over longer periods of time. By being able to do that something drastic could happen. Prices could >come down and not up. By the way you mentioned asprin, did you know it was made from the willow tree and willow tea is a very old time tested cure? I was thinking say of the commonly available herbicide glyphosate, Patented by Monsanto as Roundup and kept at a rather higher price than need have been the case. One can still pay 2x the price for Roundup as one can pay for glypho.. Had Monsanto been able to keep control over glypho for longer, would they have dropped the price? I can only speculate. regarding asirin as a natural chemical yes I was aware, as are many other great drugs. We were lucky with asiprin to see it become available commercially as a pharmaceutical product - some others we'll probably never see for the companies have not yet found a way to patent the common chemicals.. an aside: Aspirin ® and Heroin ® were once trademarks belonging to Bayer. After Germany lost World War I, Bayer was forced to give up both trademarks. >Now the blue pill is still under patent, but that hasn't stopped others from working and creating new medications to accomplish the same thing. It caused them to look at one solution, and come other with others. That need not be a good thing. Some pretty half assed 'different-but-as-good-as' pharmacueticals have been released with disasterous effects.. >Now who should get the rights to your work if not your family??? everyone or anyone, it doesn't fuss me - I won't be here to worry about it.
