Patents in developing countries Low-income countries think about this tradeoff differently Monopoly prices weigh more heavily on low-income populations Free rider effect:if the US has patent protections,companies will develop new drugs even if there are weak patent protections in India We will see this effect again when we talk about price controls Price discrimination In theory,drug companies could sell their drugs for different prices in different countries In practice,black-market importation makes this impossible Bhattacharya,Hyde and Tu-HealthEconomicsBhattacharya, Hyde and Tu – Health Economics Patents in developing countries  Low-income countries think about this tradeoff differently  Monopoly prices weigh more heavily on low-income populations  Free rider effect: if the US has patent protections, companies will develop new drugs even if there are weak patent protections in India  We will see this effect again when we talk about price controls  Price discrimination  In theory, drug companies could sell their drugs for different prices in different countries  In practice, black-market importation makes this impossible