Brazil Voids Merck Patent On AIDS Drug

JoeBackward writes "Merck has this useful anti-AIDS drug Elfavirenz, and Brazil has lots of poor people with AIDS. So, after trying really hard to get Merck to cooperate on pricing, the Brazilian government has decided to take a 'compulsory license' to the patent, and get the drug from a factory in India. This compulsory license is basically a way to take the patent by eminent domain." This move gives Brazil one more thing in common with Thailand, both of which have blocked YouTube. Thailand's compulsory licensing of Elfavirenz and Plavix has landed the country on the US's watch list for piracy.

Comments

Re:humanity vs capitalism

[hxnwix]

They do need to recoup the cost of the development of failed drugs and dead-end research.

That being said, we might also want to remember that RIAA members need copyright durations of artist's death + 1000000 years in order to compensate for all those failed artists.

And let us not forget that not every hole exxon drills yields oil, which makes $3.50/gallon a reasonable price for 85 octane gas.

Furthermore, we should bear in mind that baby seals are vastly overpopulated ...