ENGR. ARIEL MARK R.

PILOTIN , 4-B
ASSIGNMENT NO. 2. WHY IP
WHY IP

Gaining knowledge, is the first step to wisdom. Sharing it, is the

first step to humanity - Unknown.

The Intellectual Property Law is a curtain that creators can use to

protect their intellectual properties from being infringed, copied, or
used without their consent, without being acknowledged, or even paid
for their work. It encourages creators to put their discoveries, studies,
and creations to the world; to be protected, to be paid for the use or
for royalties of their creations, and to be acknowledged. It seems that
IP Law is all good, but then again if its all good, they why is there a
period to which rights are to be protected?

In 1928, Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming surreptitiously

discovered penicillin, also coined as The Miracle Drug. Pneumonia
from bacterial infections decreased during the WWI from 18% fatality
to 1%. Fleming could have made billions, if only he had patented the
Penicillin. However, Fleming did not do so, instead he made efforts to
making the formula for penicillin readily available to who may need it,
wants to mass produce it, or improve the formula. He understood that
the penicillins potential to overcome syphilis, gangrene, tuberculosis
and other bacterial infections burdens him to share such knowledge
to the world for the greater good. And surely, the formula for penicillin
has been modified and improved in many ways.

One of the evils that can arise with Intellectual Property protection
is well encapsulated in the case of drug CEO, Martin Shkreli, who was
vilified in social media back in 2015. He increased the price of the
drug called Daraprim, a 64 year old drug that is the standard care
for treating life threatening parasitic infections from13.5 USD up to
750 USD overnight. Such is not an isolated case, there is a growing
concern for the new drugs for cancer, hepatitis C, and high
cholesterol to be charged with strategic prices.

Not to advocate that scientists should share their blood earned

research for free, or for technological companies to gratuitously give
 ENGR. ARIEL MARK R. PILOTIN , 4-B
ASSIGNMENT NO. 2. WHY IP
away their billions worth of investments on research and development
for the greater good, It is the position of this paper that there must be
a balance between the commercial perspective and social
responsibility when it comes to intellectual property. Which is why
there must be a prescriptive period to which an intellectual property
may be protected.

Intellectual Property has the Shelf Life of a Banana, as once

said by Bill Gates. You may have had your creation protected, but
such comes with an expiry date. There is a need to continuously
invest in creating new intellectual property to replace that which will
inevitably expire.

In the main, the purpose of Intellectual Property Law is to

encourage creators and inventors to share their discoveries and
creations to the world. Such purpose cannot be served justly if there
is still a monopoly of knowledge to which the few can make millions
from the pockets of the many for something as vital as a cure for
cancer, or AIDS.

As Douglas Merill once said, Knowledge is not power. The

sharing of knowledge is power.

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