Kevin Outterson, Nonrival access to pharmaceutical knowledge, a preprint submitted to the WHO Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation & Public Health, January 3, 2005. From the abstract: 'On innovation grounds, pharmaceutical patents are unnecessary in low income populations, since such markets cannot do much to support global pharmaceutical profits. The public health needs of low income populations require patented drugs to be made produced at the marginal cost of production, without R&D cost recovery. Nonrival access to pharmaceutical knowledge achieves both goals simultaneously.'
From the body of the article: 'The "nonrival access" proposal is to permit unrestricted access to pharmaceutical knowledge for low income populations. IP rent extraction to support R&D would be limited solely to high income populations. Pharmaceutical goods (pills) are rival. Two people cannot share the same pill. Taking a rival good requires compensation. Pharmaceutical knowledge is nonrival, and can be shared without diminishing anyone else's knowledge. The only reason not to share pharmaceutical knowledge is to promote future innovation. Nonrival access proposals must account for retaining optimal innovation incentives....Nonrival access would greatly improve global human health, particularly among low income populations. Nonrival access would not harm global innovation incentives, since patent rent extraction would continue in high income markets. Several models for nonrival access are possible, but the mechanisms must actually result in pharmaceutical production at MCP [marginal cost production] in quantities sufficient to meet the clinical needs of low income populations. Anything less might be a step in the right direction, but is not nonrival access.'
Posted by
Peter Suber at 1/05/2005 09:30:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
