Having just seen how the US was putting pressure on Costa Rica to modify its copyright laws for the purposes of a “free trade” agreement, Dylan F sends in the news of how the international community seems to be putting pressure on Israel to change a few things in order to join the OECD. There are three issues discussed, and you can see how the first two are at least worth discussing: corruption/bribery in weapons trade and its ongoing dispute with Arab territories within the country. But it’s difficult to see how the third issue, generic patents, could possibly be seen on the same level as the first two. But, there it is:
The second concern, regarding intellectual property rights, involves the Israeli company Teva Pharmaceuticals, one of the world’s largest producers of generic drugs. Major American and Swiss companies have long accused Israel of insufficient regulation of the way Teva markets its products in the face of patent regulations in other countries.
So, because some big pharma companies can’t compete well with Israeli generics, Israel should be barred from joining the OECD?
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