Ideal Matter: Globalisation and the Intellectual Property Debate

The book’s authors, Julian Morris, Rosalind Mowatt, Duncan Reekie and Richard Tren, set out the case for intellectual property protection, explaining the underlying principles of property rights and the ethics and economics of patent, copyright and trademark laws. They defend the much-criticized agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) with its provisions on pharmaceutical patent protection. The authors argue that alternatives to the patent system, such as public funding and prizes, would be less efficient drivers of innovation and would not materially affect the problem of access to medicines.