The Old Framework

Basis  

The industrial property was organized under the Ancient Regime. The legists of that time considered the King as “sovereign”, meaning that he had received from God all powers from God over his subjects. By letter of patent, the King could concede economic rights to any of his subjects that pleased him.

Patents survived to the Revolutions. It was no more considered as a privilege granted by the King but as a contract organized between society and the inventor. The inventor pays registration taxes, accepts an examination organized by the national patent office and the publication of his discovery. In exchange for this publication, the State recognizes a “property right” to the inventor during 20 years.

The mechanic of the patent is based on a fake axiom: anybody can “use” a creative idea even if it is the result of someone else’s work. Only a patent can prevent this free use. Patents are conceded at a national level by each State. A patent extended in most countries usually costs more than €100 000. On top of that, one patent is rarely sufficient. Several patents are often needed to protect a creation efficiently.

Limits   

The present industrial property regime is made of old national laws and institutions which protect big companies and deliberately ignore who the real creator is. Only big companies from rich nations can afford such protection. 95% of countries have no access to international property[1]. Private property is concentrated in the hand of very few companies. These benefits of a quasi-monopole of private initiative.

They pick-up and develop startups which are interesting for their own business. They naturally refuse to support others. In particular, established companies do not favor disruptive works that would destroy their acquired knowledge.

The protection of intellectual property is generally weak. Titles are delivered without any guarantee from the government. Their efficiency depends on long and costly legal procedure in courts. Inventors cannot benefit from this protection system to develop their creations. Intellectual property does not play its role. That is to protect creators so that they can develop their creative ideas to face the challenges of their environment. Without property, they cannot offer to their investors a return on investment. Without finance, most creations cannot be developed.

In such conditions, the potential for creativity is heavily under exploited. According to a recent market survey[1], 95% of human beings have at least a creative idea per year. This means a potential demand of several billion property titles per year. Compared to this potential, the number of patent applications filed all over the world was is very small; under 3 200 000 in 2017 (source: WIPO). The number of international patents that were extended was is even smaller. Only 100 000 applications were submitted by non-residents to the EPO (European Patent Office) in 2017.

The industrial property system does not really favor progress. Creators cannot use their creativity efficiently to face the present challenges of humanity.

[1] examples will follow in later Blog pages