SciDev.Net

Patents on scientific knowledge may not be as useful — or valuable — as many claim them to be.

Commodity price rises are no substitute for long-term investment in infrastructure and capacity as a means of securing sustained development.

More efforts are needed to hold the leaders of the G8 nations to commitments made at their annual summit meetings.

At its global summit next week the G8 needs to build on the work of its predecessors, putting science and technology back at the heart of the international aid agenda.

Increasing access to affordable drugs in developing countries requires better government intervention, not less of it.

Although GM crops are controversial, they can still play an important role in meeting the world's food needs. But the controversies do highlight the need for a robust regulatory framework.

Last week’s agreement on provisions under which developing nations can gain access to cheap medicines should not lead to over-optimism about the outcome of broader trade talks later this month.

Pressure is growing for a rethink of the principles behind international rules on intellectual property. The goal must be a genuine level playing field, not one skewed towards the interests of the rich.

Opposition from the pharmaceutical industry to new rules on access to cheap drugs by developing nations has cast a cloud over political commitments to meeting the needs of the poor.

Intellectual property rules are often seen as dividing the interests of developed and developing countries. But, as a recent report stresses, in areas such as their impact on research, both share common interests in reform.

A ban on patenting genome sequences would be both impractical and unrealistic. But much tighter rules, both national and international, are needed on the conditions under which such patents are granted.

Publicity stunts designed to promote public reflection of complex but pressing issues — such as the impact of patents laws on developing countries — should, if well-informed, not be dismissed as quickly as some are often tempted to do