Tags:
Journalism of Courage
More than one important debate on intellectual property,with implications for the health of economies and societies everywhere,is being played out in India. Since the last decade,the pharmaceutical industry has been pushing the envelope on the question of generic drugs. A legal war has broken out at Delhi University over the fair use of textbook material. And since 2010,when changes favouring the visually challenged were worked into the Copyright Amendment Bill,a nuanced approach to textual material has developed. Next month,at a diplomatic conference in Marrakesh under the World Intellectual Property Organisation,India may urge the world to follow its lead,defining itself as a nation that regards intellectual property in terms of total value,not merely commercial profits. The Indian model does not insist on non-commercial exploitation. Rather,it recommends reasonable pricing.
Certain classes of intellectual property,like medicines and books,can produce considerable benefits from differential pricing,for customers and suppliers,and for the society they live in. A life-saving generic drug may bring treatment within the reach of the terminally ill while delivering small revenues to industry,which it did not previously earn. Books have been differentially priced for decades,recognising the low purchasing power of the rupee. Now,if the world follows Indias urging,it could become possible to produce Braille versions of books without following convoluted and prohibitively expensive licensing procedures,increasing the capabilities and quality of life of the visually challenged. If translated audiobooks can also be recorded,the results could be even more dramatic,making current knowledge accessible to the illiterate population.
