As world leaders return to their respective countries following the recent G-8 summit, intellectual property protection is expected to be on the minds of many as they set agendas for the rest of the year. According to IP Watch, delegates agreed that more effective patent management frameworks will be needed to eliminate the scourge of counterfeit medicines.

Although pressing issues ranging from food security to global economics shifted the conversation in a wide variety of directions throughout the conference, the importance of strong and consistent protection for intellectual assets was one of the few common threads uniting talking points.

"Given the importance of intellectual property rights (IPR) to stimulating job and economic growth, we affirm the significance of high standards for IPR protection and enforcement, including through international legal instruments and mutual assistance agreements," G-8 representatives stated in the summit's vision statement.

The "free flow of information" called upon in the document was referenced in several discussions related to global health issues. According to IP Watch, regulatory mechanisms were viewed as a crucial means of supporting an avenue for legitimate pharmaceutical innovators to prosper while narrowing the market for fraudulent goods.