These are common strategies in developed countries to overcome the problems of blocking effects generated by exclusive rights and ensuing difficulties for follow-on innovation (e.g. through “patent thickets”). Normally, crosslicensing and patent pooling are traditional means in developed countries of opening up protected technology areas to enhanced competition. Org/ip/health/c/italy/), concerning the patented active ingredient Imipenem Cilastatina, IP health newsletter of 30 June 2007 (available at http://jiplp.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/2/7/452?rss=3Dl).