Hardly a day goes by without a story in the major media about the high cost of healthcare and/or its poor quality. As a result, it is easy to lose sight of the tremendous advances that have taken place in the biotech field in recent years. These advancements include not only devices that we experience every day as patients, such as pacemakers, hearing aids, hip- or knee-replacement devices, but also numerous and complex devices used in testing, diagnosis and surgery.
Similar advancements have been made in pharmaceuticals. We all have heard numerous stories and even jokes about Viagra® (read more about Protectable Elements of a Pill’s Appearance here), but drugs have been developed recently for treating (or at least alleviating the effects of) many serious illnesses that affect people all over the world in all walks of life. Drugs that promise to cure diseases that seemed to be incurable only a couple of years ago are on the horizon, as demonstrated by a recent cover story of the Time magazine.
These advancements are the results of entities, ranging from multibillion dollar companies and large universities to small start-ups. One factor that makes these entities successful is their reliance and use of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks and/or copyrights.
Take, for example, a small start-up company that invents and brings to market a very successful and unique device for diabetes testing. Diabetes is a major health issue all over the world, and if the device is so great, what will stop a competitor from coming out with a very similar product? The best way that the company can protect itself is by applying for and obtaining one or more patents for its device and its use. If the device is computer based (and most of them are, these days), the company can also protect its software with a copyright.
An entity that has developed a new drug and is marketing a drug can protect itself with a patent covering the method of making the drug and its composition as well as a possible copyright on its packaging. Moreover, the entity (and the manufacturer of the device discussed above) could develop a brand and loyal following for its drug and protect that brand with a trademark.
So, while the health care provider field is under constant attack from many sides, the biotech field industry is robust and successful and some of its success is attributable to its intelligent use of intellectual property.
Biotech and Intellectual Property