Patents on "Meet the Press" on Oct. 1

The topic of patents came up during the debate between Sherrod Brown and Mike DeWine on Meet the Press on Oct. 1.

In the past, Brown had introduced H. R. 2927 (106th Congress) on compulsory licensing. PromoteTheProgress covered a later embodiment of this bill [Representative Sherrod Brown from the great State of Ohio has introduced a bill “to provide for compulsory licensing of certain patented inventions relating to health care emergencies.” (H.R. 4131). Are compulsory licenses an issue in the United States?]

Sherrod Brown's website has the following:

In 2002, DeWine, was one of 21 senators who voted against a bill to “change patent laws to make it more difficult for brand-name drug manufacturers to obstruct competition from lower-priced generic medicines. The bill also would allow U.S.-made drugs to be imported back from Canada, where the government controls drug prices.” More specifically, this bill would allow for a single 30-month stay against Food and Drug Administration approval of a generic drug patent when a brand-name company’s patent is challenged. It would authorize the secretary of Health and Human Services to promulgate regulations permitting pharmacists and wholesalers to import prescription drugs from Canada into the United States, and it would allow individuals to import prescription drugs from Canada if the medication is for personal use and is less than a 90-day supply. [S 812, 7/31/02, #201; The Washington Post, 08/01/02]