Patents are Not Free Trade, #24,567

The Washington Post has an interesting piece about opposition to a trade pact between the European Union and India which could limit the ability of India to supply generic medicines for treating AIDS and other diseases. The article repeatedly refers to the agreement as a "free-trade" pact.

This is 180 degrees wrong. Patent protection is the opposite of free trade. It is a government granted monopoly. Patent protection is a government policy for supporting innovation. Just as trade protection ...