In today’s episode, Matt Prewitt engages in a thought-provoking dialogue with Tahir Amin, the Co-Founder and CEO of the Initiative for Medicines, Access, and Knowledge (I-MAK). Together, they delve into the history of the patent and trademark systems – flaws and all, especially within the pharmaceutical realm. Tahir, drawing from his experience as a former intellectual property lawyer turned reform advocate, sheds light on how these systems have been manipulated by large corporations to prolong monopolies rather than foster invention. He proposes substantial reforms to address these systemic issues, advocating for a fundamental restructuring of the patent system. This insightful conversation highlights the complexities and challenges within the patent system and the quest for a more just and equitable approach to intellectual property.

Links & References: 

References:

• I-MAK
• World Trade Organization (WTO)
• "Battle of Seattle" | 1999 Seattle WTO protests
• History of patent law - Wikipedia
• Why Intellectual Property Rights? A Lockean Justification
• Justifying Intellectual Property by Robert P. Merges 
• Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the US Constitution – ArtI.S8.C8.1 Overview of Congress's Power Over Intellectual Property
• United States Patent and Trademark Office - Wikipedia
• 33:14 Statstisc Peace and Science - when generics patent
• When Do Generics Challenge Drug Patents? | C. Scott Hemphill and Bhaven N. Sampat
• Investing in Ex Ante Regulation: Evidence from Pharmaceutical Patent Examination | NBER | Michael D. Frakes & Melissa F. Wasserman
• How a Drug Company Made $114 Billion by Gaming the U.S. Patent System - The New York Times
• The Burden of Patent Thickets – I-MAK
• 4 Economic evaluation | NICE health technology evaluations: the manual | Guidance
• Do not get sold on drug advertising - Harvard Health
• USA and New Zealand | Direct-to-consumer advertising - Wikipedia
• Biosimilars Basics for Patients | FDA. 
• Biologics, Biosimilars and Patents: A Beginner's Guide – I-MAK
• Patent Reform – I-MAK

Bios:

Tahir Amin LL.B., Dip.LP., is a founder and CEO of the Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), a non-profit organisation working to address the structural power and inequities of the intellectual property (IP) system and how medicines are developed and distributed. He has over 25 years of experience in IP law, during which he has practised with two of the leading IP law firms in the United Kingdom and served as IP Counsel for multinational corporations. His work focuses on re-defining and re-shaping IP laws and the related global political economy to better serve the public interest and commons, by changing the structural power dynamics that allow economic and health inequities to persist. He is a former Harvard Medical School Fellow in the Department of Global Health & Social Medicine, a TED and Echoing Green Fellow. He has served as legal advisor/consultant to many international and intergovernmental organisations, including the Medecines Sans Frontieres, the European Patent Office, World Health Organization, United Nations Environment Programme, and has testified before the U.S. Congress on IP and unsustainable drug prices. 

Tahir’s Social Links:

• Tahir Amin (@realtahiramin) / X
• Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (@IMAKglobal) / X
• Tahir Amin - Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer - I-MAK | LinkedIn

Matt Prewitt (he/him) is a lawyer, technologist, and writer. He is the President of the RadicalxChange Foundation.

Matt’s Social Links:

• ᴍᴀᴛᴛ ᴘʀᴇᴡɪᴛᴛ (@m_t_prewitt) / X

Additional Credits:

• This episode was recorded and produced by Matt Prewitt.

This is a RadicalxChange Production.

Connect with RadicalxChange Foundation:

• RadicalxChange Website
• @RadxChange | Twitter
• RxC | YouTube
• RxC | Instagram
• RxC | LinkedIn
• Join the conversation on Discord.

Credits:

• Produced by G. Angela Corpus.
• Co-Produced, Edited, and Audio Engineered by Aaron Benavides.
• Executive Produced by G. Angela Corpus and Matt Prewitt.
• Intro/Outro music by MagnusMoone, “Wind in the Willows,” is licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)