Reexamining the Patent System

摘要

Is the patent system working? It depends on whom you ask. Which industry, upstream or downstream firms, public companies or small inventors? Opinions are plentiful, but answers supported by data are few. The patent system is at the heart of the knowledge economy, but there is surprisingly little knowledge about its costs and benefits. If the system is to promote innovation as effectively as possible, we need to know much more about how patents are used and licensed and what effects they have on innovators and business practice. Since innovation is one of the key engines of economic growth, the cost of a dysfunctional, or merely suboptimal, patent system could be substantial. Signs of dysfunction are spreading, stimulating interest in legislation to reform our patent system. But to date, progress toward enacting any reforms has been stymied by inter-industry disputes over key provisions. Although patent reform is often contentious because of the divergent economic interests at stake, the current political struggle between the pharmaceutical and biotech industries on one end and information technology and financial services on the other is unprecedented. In a recent acclaimed book, Patent Failure, economists James Bessen and Michael Meurer review the literature on the private value of patents and costs of patent litigation. They conclude that the system now functions effectively only for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Whereas 20 years earlier the system provided a net benefit across the board, in effect it now imposes a tax on other industrial sectors. The conflict raises a fundamental question: Is a one-size-fits-all system viable in an age when technologies and the processes of innovation are so diverse? Given the high stakes, we need to know the answer to this question. If the end result of a uniform system is to favor innovation in one field at the expense of others, then the patent system will effectively influence the allocation of capital to different economic activities, resulting in an unintentional form of industrial policy.