Betting one's life on patents

Most of the links below were assembled thanks to Digital Majority, which we acknowledge in advance.

Let's begin with some of the most outrageous and controversial patents that exist out there because they pertain to human life. Would you believe that stem-cell patents still exist? [via Groklaw]

An effort to overturn two contested stem-cell patents was quashed last week by the US Patent and Trademark Office, in a move that strengthens the position of the patents’ holder, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).

We showed before that biomedical patents are being phased out by those who discover the benefit of change and thrive in collaboration.

Similar types of thoughts are brought up in this short essay, but the chap does not seem to agree on the subjkect of drug patents, which often lead to unnecessary deaths (video).

I have only just started the book, and I may not be sufficiently invested in the topic to go through it entirely. But the main thesis seems sound.

My intuition is that drug patents are ok, but software patents are bad. The authors' perspective supports this intuition. It is easier for drug patents to be based on clear boundaries and to satisfy the "notice function."

The following paper seems to even generalise and suggest that patents are -- broadly speaking -- a bad idea.

The current patent system in the U.S. drains entrepreneurship and small-business growth, a new study shows. Problems include high litigation costs, a decline in patent quality and differences among nations in terms of patent law.

As a new example of poor patents consider this one:

The awarded patents include U.S. Patent No. 7,331,035, which describes a “system and method for mobile software application development and deployment” and U.S. Patent No. 7,313,782, which describes a “method for distributing, integrating, and hosting a software platform.” The patent applications were filed in 2001.

And we must never forget those who are pulling the strings on behalf of wealthy corporations, building fences around existing monopolies.

Nortel Networks Spent About $560,000 in 2007 to Lobby Government on Patent Reform, Trade

The state of the patent system is extremely sad. That said, the more people become aware (and more importantly -- vocal) about it, the better. Change takes time to absorb, but it has to start somewhere. Patents are an opponent of collaboration, on which science is founded. ⬆