ABSTRACT
The incapacity and irrelevance of the intellectual property system with respect to traditional knowledge and cultural expressions make the colonising effect of the legal rights all too clear. The 'colonising' effect of the law internationalises the knowledge economy and, despite the territorial nature of intellectual property law, overrides boundaries through international trade and through free trade agreements. Recalling the earlier discussion of health and human rights, the right to health is importantly and meaningfully an element of the full realisation of the right to cultural participation – not only in terms of the access to the benefits of scientific research but also in the broader sense of the right to cultural life. The World Health Organization has published the Essential Medicines List every two years since 1977, with updates to the list undertaken by a committee of independent experts. In the UK, profits on branded pharmaceuticals sold to the National Health Service are capped by the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme.
