Why People Continue to Take Out Patents - Essay Example

Patenting is an expensive process, and one fraught with risks. Explain these risks, and also why people continue to take out patents. Introduction Patenting has continued to be the norm in order to have exclusive rights for a fixed amount of time. The patent becomes a sign of success for the person who qualifies for having his invention or discovery his exclusive property. This exclusivity is for feigning to protect the exchange of the property under the rules governed by exchange, public disclosure of the property, methodology or device for that matter. There is a regulation in place when it comes to patenting and as everyone knows it guarantees that the above mentioned property is safeguarded from the public exposure and usage. (Gibbs, 2003) The Patenting Process Patents are necessarily applied to new and novel devices and methodologies, inventions which are unique and never thought out in the past and which could be used for beneficial purposes, both from the consumer perspective as well as industrial basis. Patenting is not easy to achieve. It has to be registered at the relevant patent office and the application process is a stringent one to start with. The patent application contains different claims which are in line with the device or methodology and these claims outline the exact sentences which are specific personifications related with the invention. (Mcleod, 2001) The relevant patent laws are checked upon once the patenting application has gone through. At times, there are objections which are raised with the patenting process and told to the authority who wants to have the patenting process activated in the first place. Once the patent has been granted to this individual, he has the right to collect his renewal fees from a number of different countries at the end of each year. This makes sure that the patent is in effect for a long period of time. Risks with Patents The risks associated with patents are that they can be easily copied and infringed upon by just about anyone related with the trade, business or industry. (Link, 2003) Thus there are a number of people who oppose the general idea of having patents in the first place. When someone wants to patent there is always this danger of losing one’s invention and becoming a counterfeit in a short period of time. There is the aspect of imitation and copying and then the legal restrictions are not that strong to stop everyone who is bent upon destroying the exclusivity of the new device or methodology which has been patented by the relevant authority. Then there is the monopoly which can be governed by the party who patents this right on his device or methodology that he can wrongfully ask the competitors to be cut out from gaining the new technology, which in the end makes the whole industry and indeed the relevant field of science a loser. (Cantwell, 2004) This kind of monopoly creates inefficiencies within the related ranks and the ambiguity seems to raise high with the passage of time. The inventor seems to be the king for all the wrong reasons and this must not be the case as one would put it. However on the part of the authority governing the patenting rights, we must stress upon the fact that his exclusive rights could easily be violated upon time and time again by anyone who wants to break the law. Reasons for People willing to Patent The reason as to why people are more inclined to bring out patents lies in the fact that they think it is an exercise which would make them renowned for reasons known better to them. They believe they will have a better standing within their circles and also some huge organization or company would come forward and use their name as well as pay a handsome dividend to take over the control of the device or methodology thus brought into this world by the person who gained the patent initially. The art of keeping one’s invention secret for a period of time makes sure that this person gains a good value for his methodology which basically he has given birth to. This inventor of exclusive rights for his device or methodology becomes a licensor with the passage of time and thus has a legal point to the whole quagmire. Another reason to bring out patents lies in the fact that different companies and organizations can gain a lot if the invention has come out of its research and development departments and thus it wants to guarantee for its own self that it has monetary benefits for a long period of time. (Nelson, 1993) Conclusion Therefore the rational of bringing out patents time and again is that people want their invention to remain intact and they do not want the exclusivity attached with it to disperse in a widespread manner. The copying and imitation aspects also force one to patent his device or methodology of which he has an attachment. There is the reason of this person not getting the acclaim when it comes to finding out the exact inventor of the methodology or device thus there are hindrances if the patent is not present. (Grubb, 1999) However with all due considerations, patents are something which are not easy to have and they require legal cover to give the authority the exclusive rights over the device, methodology or process nonetheless. Patenting has become a common phenomenon in the West but with the changing times and advancements in different disciplines of science, we will see that this process would drastically reduce on the part of the authorities who want to have patenting rights. Intellectual property rights are also something that are being advocated time and again and all of these facets come under the banner of infringing one’s property related with invention and discovery. (Blackburn, 2003) If due share is given to the inventors and creators, then we will see that the patenting rights would not be needed and there would be appreciation for the people who realized the significance of the invention all said and done. The need is to understand one’s contributions and respect it. BIBLIOGRAPHY Cantwell, John. (2004). The Economics and Management of Technological Diversification. Routledge Grubb, Philip W. (1999). Patents for Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, and Biotechnology: Fundamentals of Global Law, Practice, and Strategy. Oxford University Press Blackburn, Robert A. (2003). Intellectual Property and Innovation Management in Small Firms. Routledge Mcleod, Kembew. (2001). Owning Culture: Authorship, Ownership, and Intellectual Property Law. Peter Lang Gibbs, Andy. (2003). Essentials of Patents. Wiley Nelson, Richard R. (1993). National Innovation Systems: A Comparative Analysis. Oxford University Press Link, Albert N. (2003). Technological Change and Economic Performance. Routledge Word Count: 1,030 Read More