Thailand's Generics Move

Motley Fool thinks Thailand is being short sighted:

While producing generic equivalents of these drugs might (it's still somewhat of a gray area) technically not be illegal -- Thailand is a member of the World Trade Organization, and developing countries have until 2016 to implement protections for pharmaceutical patents -- the country is still obligated to pay and negotiate licensing fees for the drugs, or else risk having a trade complaint filed against it.

Interestingly enough, discouraging pharmaceutical innovation with compulsory rules forcing the price of drugs down doesn't really help countries save on drug costs. The FDA has a white paper that shows that prices of generic drugs are cheaper in the U.S. than their Canadian-branded and generic counterparts, even though the U.S. gives stronger "incentives for R&D" spending.