Sandro Sideri () (Istituto Universitario Orientale, Neaples, Italy, and Istituto Studi Politica Internazionale, Milan, Italy) Pantaleo Giannotti () (European Patent Office, The Hague, The Netherlands)
Abstract
Patents for inventions are at the crossroad of law, technology and economics, with the Patent System resting on two fundamental assumptions: one, that technical progress is desirable and that disclosure is preferable to secrecy; two, that a competitive market economy is in the public interest, but that inventions need to be temporarily sheltered from competition by the grant of exclusive Intellectual Property rights. The Patent System is as solid as the assumptions on which it rests, and it will stay effective in its purpose only if it will keep on adjusting to change in the technical, economic, social, and political sphere. Today adjusting to change means adjusting to Globalization and to the Knowledge Economy, and fitting in the new and ever changing environment that is taking shape. In an attempt to clarify the relationships of the Patent System with the present economic landscape, this essay sketches out the reasons why patents have entered the domain of policy making and the specific areas in which adjustments appear necessary. The critical notions of economics in relation to technological change and patents are briefly analyzed, together with their implications for policy makers. The underlying aim is to provide a basis for research and discussion for economists, with a view to generate, evaluate, and select options for decision making.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Publisher Info
Paper provided by KITeS, Centre for Knowledge, Internationalization and Technology Studies, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy in its series KITeS Working Papers with number
136.
Length: 42 pages Date of creation: Jan 2003 Date of revision:
Jan 2003 Handle: RePEc:cri:cespri:wp136
Contact details of provider: Postal: via Sarfatti, 25 - 20136 Milano - Italy Phone: +39.025836.3397 Fax: +39.025836.3399 Web page: http://www.kites.unibocconi.it/
Order Information: Postal: E G E A - via R. Sarfatti, 25 - 20136 Milano -Italy
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: (Valerio Sterzi).
Find related papers by JEL classification: O34 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Intellectual Property Rights A1 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics H0 - Public Economics - - General K0 - Law and Economics - - General
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: