Decentralising the patent system

Gaétan de Rassenfosse and Kyle Higham

Chapter 8 in Handbook of Innovation and Intellectual Property Rights, 2024, pp 120-138 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Modern patent systems have been described as slow, inefficient, expensive, and possibly leading to outcomes that actively harm technological progress. This chapter presents a foundation for practical solutions, addressing suggestions like prior-art bounties and outsourced examination that have gone unheeded due to cost and system rigidity. We explore what a transition to a distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based patent system might look like, and how it could enable many previously suggested improvements to current systems in a flexible, scalable, and transparent manner by altering the way stakeholders are able to interact with patent records. We conclude that the intricate yet common roots of issues facing modern patent systems warrant a unified technical framework over balkanised solutions that attempt to address each problem individually. Noting that a DLT-based system is not a panacea, we also discuss the political, legal, and organizational hurdles to be navigated for large-scale implementation.

Keywords: Business and Management; Economics and Finance; Innovations and Technology; Law - Academic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Related works:
Working Paper: Decentralising the Patent System (2019)
Working Paper: Decentralising the Patent System (2019)
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