Difference between revisions of "Patent Rights"

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==References==
 
==References==
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Revision as of 16:42, 20 April 2021

Image of a U.S. patent
Patent rights is a form of legal protection present within the United States. Patent rights are secured through inventors filing a patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office which secures them at least 20 years of exclusive rights to that invention [1]. Eligible innovations must either be a process, a product, a machine, or a composition of matter and the innovation must be non-obvious, new, and useful. They are a form of intellectual property that does not allow any other person or party to use that invention without the permission of the inventor. Government agencies typically handle and approve applications for patents. In the United States, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), which is part of the Department of Commerce, handles applications and grants approvals. [2] [3]. Patents were introduced to the United States in an attempt to encourage inventors to participate in the national economy by sharing their ideas and inventions. Inventors would have a guaranteed time in which they may hold a monopoly on their invention, which would guarantee some form of return [4]. Upon expiration of a patent, the technology enters the public domain and is usable by any individual or firm for profit.

History

The U.S. Constitution, Article One, section 8 that was adopted in year 1787 authorizes the original patent law, which states that whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine or drug may obtain exclusive use of that product for 14 years [5]. The patent law was originally designed to encourage inventors to commercialize their invention to encourage economic growth and further market innovations by ensuring profit for the duration of the patent. However, there was push back on the duration by inventors for being too short [6] The argument was that the majority of the 14 years for most inventors was spent getting the invention to market, and thus meant the inventor had very little time to profit from the innovation.

In 1836 significant revision of the patent rights law meant that inventors could get a 7 year extension on their patent, which would bring the patent time frame up to the current 20 years [7]. Over multiple revisions, the final patent law has a default of 20 years and with the possibility of extensions.

Application Process

In order to create a legal patent in the United States, the inventor must meet three requirements. The first requirement is that the idea is “novel,” which occurs when it is different from all previous inventions (called "prior art") in one or more of its constituent elements.The second is that it is “useful,” which occurs when it provides some identifiable benefit and is capable of use. The last requirement is that it must be “non-obvious” which means that the invention is not readily apparent.

According to the United States law, “the inventor, or a person to whom the inventor has assigned or is under an obligation to assign the invention, may apply for a patent, with certain exceptions. If the inventor is deceased, the application may be made by legal representatives, that is, the administrator or executor of the estate." [8]Two or more people may also co-file a patent together as joint inventors if they are both responsible for the invention. If one of the people only contributed financially, they are not to file their name on the patent.

Ethical Implications

There have been raised ethical concerns over patent laws. 20 years of exclusive use is arguably unnecessary and creates temporary monopolies [citation needed] . When patent laws were first conceived and written 225 years ago, the pace of technology was slower [citation needed] . It took 40 years to develop a steam engine, 10 years of work by Edison to invent the simple light bulb [citation needed] . Thus, it made sense to reward “exclusive use” rights to such inventors for 20 years; allowing them time to re-coup their investment of effort and money. However, the pace of technology is much faster now and changes of a magnitude that once took centuries now happen in years. For example, Apple patented its first iPhone in 2007 [citation needed] . According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple’s net profit was 3.5 billion [citation needed] . Apple slowly worked its way up to the iPhone 6 in 2014 where its’ net profit was 40 billion for the year. Apple recouped their investment many times over the years and have potentially monopolized the market [citation needed] . The article cites that they have successfully won over hundreds of patent lawsuits they have filed, simply because they have more money to fight, disabling any company to create a similar product [citation needed] . The U.S. government purposely does not allow monopolies, and granting 20 years of exclusive rights does exactly this [citation needed] .

Next, consumers will benefit tremendously if exclusive use is limited to 5 years. One commonly cited example involves the world’s best-selling drug, Lipitor, a cholesterol reducing drug, was introduced in 1997 and was priced $150 per supply of 30 days. In 2012, their patent expired and the generic are selling for $15 per months’ supply. If the exclusive use was limited to 5 years, the price for this drug would have been lowered by 10 times many years ago. Many people were not able to afford such drug and just gave up hope. These lowered prices could have saved additional lives. Thus, lowering the exclusive use to 5 years brings prices down for the product quickly and the consumer benefits tremendously.

Opposition to patent laws argue that individuals who have put much time, money, and effort deserve to have this patent right [citation needed] . In this day and age, there are many engineers and scientists developing solutions to human issues. There are two people working on an idea, and one is able to patent the idea first. If this person does not grant rights to others, they now have 20 years of exclusive rights on a simple mechanism. This hampers the innovation of technology completely, and disables any others from further improving the product for the good of society.

References

  1. Fisher, William Weston. Patent Britannica." 27 May 2019. Retrieved 04 April 2021.
  2. Kenton, Will [1] Investopedia."" April 12, 2021.
  3. A Brief History of the Patent Law of the United States Cornell Law School." Retrieved 04 April 2021.
  4. Malek, Widerman. Why Are Patents Important? Widerman Malek." 02 May 2015. Retrieved 04 April 2021.
  5. Ladas. A Brief History of the Patent Law of the United States Ladas & Parry. 07 May 2014. Retrieved 04 April 2021.
  6. Ladas. A Brief History of the Patent Law of the United States Ladas & Parry. 07 May 2014. Retrieved 04 April 2021.
  7. Ladas. A Brief History of the Patent Law of the United States Ladas & Parry. 07 May 2014. Retrieved 04 April 2021.
  8. Alexandra, Virginia General Information Concerning Patents USPTO. October 2015. Retrieved 20 April 2021.