23/03: Innovation in Innovating: the Eco-Patent Commons
Since the Italian Renaissance, societies have offered their innovators a deal. In return for publicly describing their invention, they are granted a period of exclusivity. This not only encourages innovators, it gets ideas more quickly out into the open, where others can build upon them.
It is an approach that has served society well over the centuries. Yet recently it has become more controversial. Should life-saving drugs be patented? Should life forms? Should a company get private rights for software without revealing the underlying source code? Does the morass of patents and licenses in the field of biotech actually limit progress?
Amid such arguments, IBM has quietly brought forth a new idea: an “eco-patent commons” (EPC), a process to share intellectual property (IP) related to environmental and ecological technology.
It is an approach that has served society well over the centuries. Yet recently it has become more controversial. Should life-saving drugs be patented? Should life forms? Should a company get private rights for software without revealing the underlying source code? Does the morass of patents and licenses in the field of biotech actually limit progress?
Amid such arguments, IBM has quietly brought forth a new idea: an “eco-patent commons” (EPC), a process to share intellectual property (IP) related to environmental and ecological technology.
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