Policymakers must navigate the delicate task of striking the right balance between safeguarding the rights of patent holders contributing to medical innovations and ensuring that the public has adequate access to these advancements.
Much effort has been made to identify legal frameworks and practices within and around the patent system, which adequately balance incentives to innovate with access to health-related technology. Any such framework must take into account the interests of both technology holders and technology users.
Given the complex nature of health innovation and access to medicines, a holistic understanding of synergies between the patent system and other policy components becomes crucial. The interplay between trade policy, public health policy, procurement policy, the regulatory environment, innovation policy, intellectual property strategy, market conditions, and various other factors are critical in comprehending the intersection of patents and health.
In order to address these multifaceted challenges, the WIPO’s Standing Committee on the Law of Patents (SCP) examines the role of the patent system in achieving the right balance between fostering innovation and ensuring access to technology.