a perennial favorite topic of debate. sound off in the replies.

  • eclipse@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    I’m clearly not an expert in the matter and perhaps this is just my wishful? thinking.

    I feel like any type of scientific knowledge humanity has acquired shouldn’t be “owned” by any individual / entity and subsequently only benefit an -often small- portion of society. For example, it baffles me how some medications take years and years -usually until the patents expire- to become available to the majority of the patients that need them. I get that companies need a return on their investments. But imo that should never come at the cost of any person’s life or health. Like, aside from production costs, the costs of researching a given drug are fixed. So, it’s not like the more people that use it takes money out of their pockets somehow. Logically, it should be the other way around.

    Idk, it just doesn’t make sense to me when the knowledge already exists and people aren’t able to make use of it until much later because apparently that’s the only way someone’s able to make a profit in this current system? Maybe copyright sucks?

    What do y’all think?

    Edit: I was just made aware from reading the other comments that patents / copyright are actually two distinct forms of IP that serve different purposes. So yeah, definitely not an expert. Not deleting bc I still stand by what I said, but my comment doesn’t really answer the question at hand.

    • MrDude@lemmy.fmhy.ml
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      1 year ago

      I’m begging the holders for asthma medication to release the patent/copyright? So that I won’t have to pay a fortune to breathe. Money is also tight right now so im litteraly rationing what medicine I have left.

      • navDend0@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        this is an interesting (infuriating) one: most asthma meds are were generic, but were re-formulated with a different propellant that was less harmful to the atmosphere. Despite the actual medicine not changing, they got their patents renewed and the generics got taken off the market

        a total failure of the system

      • eclipse@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Yeah, I don’t care whose pockets it hurts, but no one should have to worry about not being able to access a life-saving medication that already exits. Sorry you have to go through this