Literature/202405081203 open-source model for patents
- Source: [[@dent2006Research Use of Patented Knowledge]]
- Tags: #patents #technology-transfer
The 202405081136 Law regarding research use exemptions has plenty of room for improvement, and one scope would be to give some clarity regarding research exceptions for patents, in order to ensure knowledge spill-over.
In this context, the "Open Source" model may be appropriate.
If a university (or another not-for-profit) institution can't sign a licensing agreement with a patent holder, it could use the technology without permission after agreeing to a waiver. Under these terms, whatever is created within the waiver, can't be subjected to patents and must be published immediately.
The following conditions would indemnify universities:
- Patented material was not available to researchers under "reasonable" terms
- Investigators agreed to publish results
- The university will not patent any output of the resulting research.
Even if Universities are pushing for open science, they are slowly behaving more and more like profit-maximizing institutions, where patents became a tool for creating revenue. It is likely that universities themselves will be the first obstacle in creating such ecosystem.
The question that remains is whether such a system will limit the ability of firms to invest in the development of open-sourced tools.
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