{"id":4859,"date":"2025-05-26T16:22:08","date_gmt":"2025-05-26T14:22:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calysta.eu\/why-deleting-all-ip-laws-is-a-risky-proposition-for-innovation-especially-in-healthcare\/"},"modified":"2025-05-26T16:22:08","modified_gmt":"2025-05-26T14:22:08","slug":"why-deleting-all-ip-laws-is-a-risky-proposition-for-innovation-especially-in-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/why-deleting-all-ip-laws-is-a-risky-proposition-for-innovation-especially-in-healthcare\/","title":{"rendered":"Why deleting all IP laws is a risky proposition for innovation, especially in healthcare"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why deleting all IP laws is a risky proposition for innovation, especially in healthcare<\/strong><\/p>\n

A tweet from Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, recently stirred debate across the internet. Dorsey simply wrote \u201cdelete all IP laws\u201d, a sentiment that was quickly endorsed by Elon Musk. While at first glance this proposal may seem progressive or even utopian by abolishing monopolies and high costs, a closer inspection reveals a complex and potentially disastrous consequences for innovation, investment, and public interest in the long term.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The short-term appeal : Lower prices and faster access<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s admit it, the idea has immediate appeal. Without patents or exclusivity, the monopoly grip of Big Pharma would loosen, anyone could manufacture and sell generic versions of life-saving drugs, vaccines, and treatments. Prices would plummet and access would skyrocket. Patients in low-income countries could afford cutting-edge therapies.<\/p>\n

This argument resonates strongly in the context of global health crises, where IP protections are often blamed for delays in drug availability and drug access.<\/p>\n

But here\u2019s the catch : if no one can protect their innovation, who\u2019s going to pay to create the next one ?<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The long-term risk : A collapse in innovations <\/strong><\/p>\n

Research & Development isn\u2019t free, it\u2019s a gamble. Researching, developing, and testing a new drug can take over a decade and cost billions of dollars. Without the promise of market exclusivity temporarily granted by patents, why would any biotech startup, research lab or company invest in such a risky and expensive process ?<\/p>\n

Any innovation could be instantly copied by competitors with no development cost. The logical outcome ? A long-term drought in medical progress.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The rise of trade secrets and the loss of public knowledge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ironically, if IP laws vanish, innovation won\u2019t become more open, it could become more secretive. Patents require public disclosure for temporary exclusivity: if you want protection, you have to disclose your work. This disclosure is vital<\/em><\/strong>. Much like scientific publications, patents allow others to learn from and build upon existing ideas, even before they expire.<\/p>\n

If companies can no longer rely on patents to protect their inventions; they may resort to trade secrets<\/em> <\/strong>and never disclose how their products work. And contrary to patents, trade secrets provide no shared benefit to the public or to future inventors.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Leveling the playing field for small companies<\/strong><\/p>\n

And here\u2019s something often overlooked: IP laws don\u2019t just protect big pharmaceutical companies; they also level the playing field for smaller startups. Startups and smaller companies often rely on patents to attract investment<\/em><\/strong> and protect<\/em> their innovations<\/em> <\/strong>from being poached by better-funded competitors. Without IP protection, larger companies could easily copy, scale and dominate any successful innovation developed by a smaller player.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Innovation needs protection to thrive<\/strong><\/p>\n

Patents don\u2019t just grant a temporary monopoly; they encourage risk-taking and investment in long-term research. They require innovators to publish their findings, thus adding to the global body of knowledge. And they expire, ensuring that society ultimately benefits<\/em><\/strong> from open access to once-protected technologies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Why deleting all IP laws is a risky proposition for innovation, especially in healthcare A tweet from Jack Dorsey, co-founder and former CEO of Twitter, recently stirred debate across the internet. Dorsey simply wrote \u201cdelete all IP laws\u201d, a sentiment that was quickly endorsed by Elon Musk. While at first glance this proposal may seem […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":4661,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[131],"tags":[337,147,149],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=4859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4859\/revisions\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4661\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=4859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=4859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.calysta.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=4859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}