When that inspired individual invented the wheel in those distant centuries, there was no patent system to protect the novelty of the idea. Everyone else looked on as the first wheels appeared on the streets and, before you could say, Jack Robinson, everyone had wheels. Those were the days when everyone shared the benefits of all the inventions. Times were hard and survival mattered more than commercial intellectual property rights. It took a long time for the world to come round to the view that inventions should be subject to a monopoly protection. We had a fully developed market economy back in Ancient Greece and Rome. There was a universal currency throughout both political groups, but it was not until a few hundred years ago that aggressive merchants began to buy monopoly rights from the political rulers. Now, we seem to take it as given that anyone who creates something new should have protection. Except, that is, when it comes to downloading the odd copyright-protected MP3.
In theory, this should not cause too many problems except the patent system is used to stifle creativity and keep out competing products while the patent holder changes the maximum possible retail price. This penalizes us, the consumers. We either pay the asking price or go without. So welcome to the court of District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith. Note it fell to a woman to decide the fate of men as we all waited for cheaper erectile dysfunction drugs. So here comes an international company with the nerve to threaten the cosy US market with cheap generic drugs. This competition on price would have affected the three current patent holders. Pfizer took the lead and argued it had a patent up to 2019.
Why so long? Well, after patenting the underlying chemistry as a treatment for high blood pressure in the arteries running through the chest and lungs, it registered a second patent for the same drug as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. Check out the history. You’ll find the erectile dysfunction use of the drug was an accidental discovery during the trial for hypertension. The foreigners were bold, arguing this was nothing new. It was obvious from the first research trial. Unfortunately, the judge disagreed and ordered the foreigner to take its cheap generics away and not return until 2019. This means we continue to suffer the price gouging from all three manufacturers with no immediate sign of there being anyone able to introduce a generic into the market.
Have you noticed how aggressive the manufacturers are when advising us not to buy our drugs online. The problem for them is that almost all the major online pharmacies are based overseas where generics are freely available. If you check out these pharmacies, you almost always find the cheap generics available. So, for erectile dysfunction, you can usually make real savings on your supplies of Cialis, even after adding in the cost of shipping. The only danger comes from the laws of some US states which mandate customs to confiscate imported drugs for which there’s no valid prescription. So, before you order your Cialis online, check out your local laws on importation. The packages always come in plain wrappers so there’s always a good chance they will get through undetected.