Roy Schestowitz <newsgroups@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> espoused:
> Indonesia Stops Sharing Avian Virus Samples
>
> ,----[ Quote ]
>| "Indonesia has apparently decided to play the IP game, with the world's
>| health at stake.... can't we come up with some GPL'ish license to
>| free any product based on this data?"
> `----
>
> http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/02/08/1743249&from=rss
>
The reported problem is that they give away the samples, but then
American (and presumably, European?) drug companies sell vaccines at a
price they cannot afford, so they're trying to redress the balance
somewhat.
The real problem is inherent in the patent system here, as it is being
used to provide a monopoly in a drug, and the monopoly owner is clearly
abusing that monopoly in such a way that the original provider of the
information, in this case Indonesia, is unable to afford the developed
vaccine.
It's hardly surprising that Indonesia is trying to take some action, but
to my mind, it further highlights the brokenness of the present patent
system.
--
| Mark Kent -- mark at ellandroad dot demon dot co dot uk |
| Cola faq: http://www.faqs.org/faqs/linux/advocacy/faq-and-primer/ |
| Cola trolls: http://colatrolls.blogspot.com/ |
|
|
