We compare ourselves a lot to Europe, given the agreement negotiations that are under way. Europe does not have patent-linkage regulations. This is basically a system that allows generic manufacturers to have access to patented research from companies. However, as soon as generic companies want to market their product, they have to send a request to the patent holder for authorization.
In Canada, our patent system is very lax; we issue patents very easily. We start with the premise that generic manufacturers will challenge patents before the courts. Our system is very lax in terms of issuing patents and it allows companies to challenge it before the courts. The patent-linkage regulation system grants up to two years of additional protection to make it possible to demonstrate in court that the company's patents are not valid and that they were issued all too leniently. It is too expensive and it is not useful.