A/70/279 exacerbating existing injustices and perhaps even creating new ones. (…) Lack of access could literally create a new class of disabled persons — individuals who are unable to participate effectively in what might be called the dominant cooperative scheme” and whose “capacities will not satisfy the demands of what will hav e become ‘normal’ human life”. 18 55. The conjoined human right to science and culture should be understood as including a right to have access to, use and further develop technologies in self determined and empowering ways. New scientific knowledge and innovations increase available options, thereby strengthening people’s capacity to envisage a better future for which access to specific technologies may sometimes be pivotal (see A/HRC/20/26, para. 20). Interrogating the impact of patent policy on the right to science cannot be dissociated from interrogating its impact on the right to participate in cultural life and to pursue specific ways of life, such as in the case of small farmers. Access to the benefits of scientific progress not only allows improving one’s socio-economic situation, but also gives the opportunity for meaningful participation in the life of local, national or international communities. One example is new information communication technologies, which not only influence culture, but are also becoming an intrinsic part of culture as everyday practice (see A/HRC/20/26, para. 19). 19 B. Impact of patent policy on the direction of scientific research 56. Patent policies and practices may divert research priorities away from matters of greatest public concern. Where the technological needs of the rich and poor overlap, technologies developed for sale to wealthy segments of society will also benefit the poor. But when needs do not coincide, intellectual property may be ineffective for stimulating the necessary research and development, 20 for example, to treat diseases primarily experienced by the poor in developing countries, 21 or to address the needs of persons with disabilities. 57. Alternative mechanisms have long existed alongside patents to stimulate research. These include tax incentives for corporate investments in research and development, public funding for scientific research, government purchasing, prize competitions and advance market commitments. These mechanisms avoid two liabilities of the patent-focused approach to research and innovation: they can be tied to social benefit rather than market demand, and they do not require legal restrictions on the diffusion of the resulting technologie s.21 These approaches have downsides too, however, which the patent system resolves. For example, public funding is not a realistic solution for all sciences. Alternative mechanisms need to __________________ 18 19 20 21 15-12543 See Allen Buchanan, “Justice in innovation and human r ights in and to science”, discussion paper presented at the Human Rights and Science: Mapping the Issues workshop, Fribourg, Switzerland, 2014. See also United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, “The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications” (Paris, 2009). See Amy Kapczynski, “The cost of price: why and how to get beyond intellectual property internalism”, UCLA Law Review, vol. 59, No 4 (2012). See World Health Organization, Public Health, Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights: Report of the Commission on Intellectual Property Rights, Innovation, and Public Health (Geneva, 2006). 15/26