In Search of Fair Balance Legislative proposals that would erode the patent system in the US, and the exclusivity granted to innovative pharmaceutical compounds, are misguided, a recent academic study concludes. Abraham Lincoln said that patents added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius. But it was not genius and genius alone that Lincoln and our founding fathers desired from a patent system. Rather, their object was innovation more to the point, the discoveries and inventions, machines and tools, devices and compounds that they believed, with their faith in the future and mankind, would improve human life.
Innovation is the answer.
Patents are crucial because they make it possible for society to realize or secure the benefits of genius, creativity and effort. The Hatch-Waxman Act established the legal and economic foundations for what has become today s generic drug industry. The Hatch-Waxman Act deals with complex issues of science, medicine and intellectual property as they relate to a highly competitive industry. To understand the essence of the law, it helps to start at the beginning of the drug development process. Each advance builds on advances that preceded it.