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In a
recent conference in Iloilo, an inventor expressed his
fear that if he files a patent application for an
invention, the information will “leak” out of
Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IP
Philippines) and will be copied by others. Thus, denying
him the opportunity to profit from his invention.
This is
one of the misconceptions or myths about patents that
stem from a lack of understanding on how the patent
system works. It is also probably one of the factors
contributing to the low patent filings of Filipino
inventors and innovators.
A patent
granted by the State protects an invention for a period
of 20 years. During this period of exclusive rights
given to the patent owner, he enjoys a “temporary
shelter from the forces of market competition.”
The
premise of the patent system is that the competitive
advantage provided by a patent encourages innovation
because inventors know that they can recoup their
investments and reap financial rewards.
But this
20-year monopoly on an invention does not—and should
not—come easily to the inventor. In exchange for these
exclusive rights, the inventor must publicly disclose
the details of his invention. The world, so to speak,
has to see it. Since the State will allow an
“aberration” in the market by granting a monopoly,
society has the right to know everything about the
invention that seeks protection for 20 years. That is
the “social contract” that the inventor enters into with
society.
Besides
the philosophical or theoretical basis that defines the
relationship of the inventor and society, showing the
public the details of an invention serves two practical
purposes.
First,
an inventor who claims he invented something must prove
his claim or claims of what his invention can do—not
just to the patent office, but to the world.
Thus,
under patent laws found in our Intellectual Property
Code, the IP office is required to publish the patent
application 18 months after the application is first
filed. IP Philippines publishes these applications
online in its Patent e-gazette.
Once
published, anyone in the world can question the
inventor’s claim or comment on his claim of
inventiveness. Then the extensive or substantive search
of patent databases available in the world begins to
find out if the inventor’s claim is true or if there is
a “prior art” on his claim, meaning somebody beat him to
it. The search and examination process becomes highly
technical and rigorous at this stage.
Second,
making the detailed information about an invention
available to the world allows anyone to use that
information to further innovate on the invention,
provided they do not infringe on the patent claim. The
technological information in patent databases available
to the public and accessible by the Internet can also be
used to find potential licensors, investors or business
partners.
This is
how the patent system promotes technological innovation
and business competition, and not just by patent
protection. It lures technological information,
especially if these can benefit society, out of the
closet. In effect, “the quid pro quo for the issuance of
patent is full disclosure of the invention.”
At the
heart, therefore, of a patent grant from the State is
public disclosure. Thus, there can be no “leak” of
technological information in a patent application.
At the
end of the open forum, the inventor I mentioned earlier
said that it’s clear to him now that our own inventors
need a “paradigm shift” in their views on the whole
patent system.
****
The
Pan-Asian Conference on Learning Difficulties: A Closer
Look at the Asian Child will be held from October 25 to
27, 2007, at the Crowne Plaza, Ortigas Center. For more
information and inquiries on how you can participate,
help or sponsor a teacher, call Wordlab at (632)724-3871
or 416-9285 (look for Che Diez) or send an e-mail to
panasian.LDsecretariat@gmail.com.
The author is the director general of the Intellectual
Property Office of the Philippines. Comments may be sent
to e-mail address: dg_asc@ipophil.gov.ph. |
