- What is the difference between a patent and a copyright? A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted to an inventor for a defined period of time. These rights are granted in exchange for public disclosure of the invention. It's something you postulate when you create something physical, like a product or process. Concretely, it can be a technological object, a new drug, etc. Copyright, on the other hand, is something that concerns intellectual property and applies right after creation. It generally refers to something in the artistic field, such as a novel, a song, a photograph, etc. The fact that you don't need to file a copyright means that even one day, whoever writes a song in their basement has their intellectual property. automatically protected by copyright. - When did patents come into existence? What was their original purpose?The patent first appeared during the Italian Renaissance era. The patent was originally created to attract qualified people to certain cities across the country. The idea was to give people the exclusive right when they created something. The reward was that they would be the only ones to exploit this skill or idea in the region. And when you're in a monopoly position, that usually means more business and profits. Therefore, these talented geniuses were more likely to arrive at a place where they knew their efforts would be fully protected and fully rewarded. This was a great plan to attract innovative people while growing the city's economy. The idea behind copyright was to encourage people to be more creative. If you are talented and intellectually produce something, you will receive all the benefits of your creativity and money that you will get from listening to someone's music. But it's another to prevent sick people from receiving the care they need based on copyright infringement. When talking about someone's existence, is it right to prioritize the financial aspect? We see pharmaceutical companies doing everything they can to extend their patents so that their drugs do not fall into the public domain. They can, for example, modify the drug slightly and put a new name on it and they are ready to continue for several more years. They don't even have to prove that the new drug is better. If you prove that your product works, it is automatically eligible for a new patent. Some countries have decided to oppose the companies' patents and defend themselves by claiming that it is for humanitarian reasons. It is more important to save lives than to pay excessive prices for medicines. (…)