For many, intellectual property rights are an abstract concept that don’t fit into the worries of an average consumer, or as we will continue calling them from hereon, patients. The misconception that intellectual property such as patents only help large corporations enables the adoption of harmful anti-innovation policies. Innovators and investors in research and development must be able to rely on the protection of intellectual property. While opponents seeking to relax or even abolish intellectual property rights in the European Union are correct that, in the very short term, it may lead to more accessibility of existing technologies, we must keep in mind that this comes at the expense of future innovations. Without safeguarding intellectual property, we are likely to end up in a technological stalemate where humanity stops progressing. Patients who may one day be diagnosed with incurable diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Cystic Fibrosis, Diabetes, or HIV/AIDS should benefit from the chance that a cure will become available, and protecting IP is the only way to give them that chance. This policy paper analyses the current state of innovation in Europe and around the world and identifies the main drivers for continuous progress in innovation. 

 

As part of this analysis, the authors assess current attitudes towards intellectual property rights in Europe, and make the consumer case for strong intellectual property rights. The author makes the case for several policy recommendations the European Commission and the European Parliament should follow:

 

• Ensuring the EU updates and maintains a world-class approval system of medicines that transparently communicates to patients and the public which drugs are available on the market and which will be available in the future. 

• Safeguarding Intellectual Property Rights within the European Union and globally through the EU’s trade policy. Strong IP rights are necessary in order to foster innovation in Europe and allow for much needed scientific breakthroughs to take place, in order to cure diseases we still struggle to cure. 

• A digital health infrastructure as part of the Digital Single Market that allows interoperability among eHealth systems and does not stifle the use of necessary data for medical research. 

 

Only innovations will be able to truly tackle problems such as (yet) incurable diseases, fluctuations in global food supply, and coping with the potential effects of changes in local and world climate. Innovative breakthroughs are the only true method to help humanity overcome challenges without having to reduce the standard of living of everyday people. It is paramount for the European Union and its member states to provide a policy framework that fosters innovation as much as possible. The following chapters aim to show that intellectual property is a necessary foundation for the ability of a society to foster innovation