Patent nonsense
Feb 08, 2010, 17:03 (0 Talkback[s])
"DO PATENTS help or hinder innovation? Instinctively, they would
seem a blessing, especially for backroom tinkerers. Patenting an
idea gives its inventor a 20-year monopoly to exploit the fruit of
his labour in the marketplace, in exchange for publishing a full
account of how the new product, process or material works for all
and sundry to see. For the inventor, that may be a reasonable
trade-off. For society, however, the loss of competition through
the granting sole rights to an individual or organisation is
justified only if it stimulates the economy and delivers goods that
change people's lives for the better.
"Invention, though, is not innovation. It may take a couple of
enthusiasts working evenings and weekends for a year or
two—not to mention tens of thousands of dollars of their
savings—to get a pet idea to the patenting stage. But that is
just the beginning. Innovations based on patented inventions or
discoveries can take teams of researchers, engineers and marketing
experts a decade or more, and tens of millions of dollars, to
transfer to the marketplace. And for every bright idea that goes on
to become a commercial winner, literally thousands fall by the
wayside."
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