It was a special kind of wonderful when the Supreme Court rejected the patent claims of pharmaceutical company Novartis, over Gleevec, a drug, used to treat cancer. The company sought to prevent manufacture and sale at lower prices of similar drugs by Indian companies, claiming the innovation was solely theirs, a claim the court did not find sufficient basis for.

In a time when any talk of public good and the commons is pooh-poohed in favour of seemingly non-denominational ideas about monetary profit, it’s great to have values of fairness, humanity and genuine progress endorsed through a ruling that will allow millions of people access to treatment without which they could die—of debt if not neglect.