The protection of the copyright as question of public health - the case of medicines and cosmetics

Abstract

This article approaches the legal protection of the intellectual property law on medicines and cosmetics. It shows that although this protection appears, at first, directed to the interests of the private enterprise, its relevance to the public sphere is confirmed, since it involves directly the public health on the aspect of health acessibility, when this depends on supplier or acquisition. And, similarly, this could reach, at this time indirectly, the public health through internal or external use of products that can affect health, as in the case of drugs and cosmetics.