[ExI] (The Independent 2013-08) Plumpy'Nut: The lifesaver that costs... well, peanuts

[Dave Sill]

On Tue, Sep 17, 2013 at 3:51 PM, Tomasz Rola <rtomek at ceti.pl> wrote:
>
> If you were swimming in the open seas, would you want to be thrown a
> generic safety raft or just a raft?

I would accept whatever is offered, of course. The patent issue really
only comes into play when the raft is purchased. If the rescue service
is soliciting donations to buy rafts, donors may well care whether the
rafts are produced by for-profit ventures or by non-profits. It could
be that rafts produced by the for-profit makers are a better value,
but donors may still balk at the idea of a portion of their donation
going toward the CEO's Porsche payment.

If Plumpy'nut were produced by an entity that *didn't* enforce
intellectual property rights on others who want to produce similar
products (locally and more cheaply) then more starving people could be
saved at less cost. That kind of pisses me off and makes me not want
to support them.

-Dave