首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Patents, said Thomas Jefferson, should draw "a line between the things which are worth to the public the embarrassment of an exc
Patents, said Thomas Jefferson, should draw "a line between the things which are worth to the public the embarrassment of an exc
admin
2010-05-14
55
问题
Patents, said Thomas Jefferson, should draw "a line between the things which are worth to the public the embarrassment of an exclusive patent, and those which are not". As the value that society places on intellectual property has increased, that line has become murkier--and the cause of some embarrassment, too. Around the world, patent offices are being inundated with applications. In many cases, this represents the extraordinary inventiveness that is occurring in new fields such as the internet, genomics and nanotechnology. But another, less-acceptable reason for the flood is that patent offices have been too lax in granting patents, encouraging many firms to rush to patent as many, often dubious, ideas as possible in an effort to erect legal obstacles to competitors. The result has been a series of messy and expensive court battles, and growing doubts about the effectiveness of patent systems as a spur to innovation, just as their importance should be getting bigger.
In 1998 America introduced so-called "business-method" patents, granting for the first time patent monopolies simply for new ways of doing business, many of which were not so new. This was a mistake. It not only ushered in a wave of new applications, but it is probably inhibiting, rather than encouraging, commercial innovation, which had never received, or needed, legal protection in the past. Europe has not, so far, made the same blunder, but the European Parliament is considering the easing of rules for innovations incorporated in software. This might have a similarly deleterious effect as business-method patents, because many of these have been simply the application of computers to long-established practices. In Japan, fu-ms are winning large numbers of patents with extremely narrow claims, mostly to obfuscate what is new and so to ward off rivals. As more innovation happens in China and India, these problems are likely to spread there as well.
There is an urgent need for patent offices to return to first principles. A patent is a government-granted temporary monopoly (patents in most countries are given about 20 years’ protection) intended to reward innovators in exchange for a disclosure by the patent holder of how his invention works, thereby encouraging others to further innovation. The qualifying tests for patents are straightforward--that an idea be useful, novel and not obvious. Unfortunately most patent offices, swamped by applications that can run to thousands of pages and confronted by companies wielding teams of lawyers, are no longer applying these tests strictly or reliably. For example, in America, many experts believe that dubious patents abound, such as the notorious one for a "sealed crustless sandwich". Of the few patents that are re-examined by the Patent and Trademark Office itself, often after complaints from others, most are invalidated or their claims clipped down. The number of duplicate claims among patents is far too high. What happens in America matters globally, since it is the world’s leading patent office, approving about 170,000 patents each year, half of which are granted to foreign applicants.
Europe’ s patent system is also in a mess in another regard: the quilt of national patent offices and languages means that the cost of obtaining a patent for the entire European Union is too high, a burden in particular on smaller firms and individual inventors. The European Patent Office may award a patent, but the patent holder must then file certified translations at national patent offices to receive protection. Negotiations to simplify this have gone on for over a decade without success.
As a start, patent applications should be made public. In most countries they are, but in America this is the case only under certain circumstances, and after 18 months. More openness would encourage rivals to offer the overworked patent office evidence with which to judge whether an application is truly novel and non- obvious. Patent offices also need to collect and publish data about what happens once patents are granted-- the rate at which they are challenged and how many are struck down. This would help to measure the quality of the patent system itself, and offer some way of evaluating whether it is working to promote innovation, or to impede it.
But most of all, patent offices need to find ways of applying standards more strictly. This would make patents more difficult to obtain. But that is only right. Patents are, after all, government-enforced monopolies and so, as Jefferson had it, there should be some "embarrassment" (and hesitation) in granting them.
Which of the following is NOT among the many problems with the current patent system?
选项
A、Patent offices are being inundated with applications.
B、A series of messy and expensive court battles.
C、Patent offices collect and publish data about what happens once patents are granted.
D、Large numbers of patents with extremely narrow claims.
答案
C
解析
这题只需排除现存的问题即可。问题主要包括由于专利标准过于宽松导致法律纠纷,大量仅有极其狭窄适用范围的专利申请使得专利机构疲于应付等。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/jblO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
A、Becausetheyaretryingtodiscusswhetherthepeninsulashouldbeaanuclear-freeregion.B、Becausetheyhaveneverheldhig
A、Thereisnoguaranteethatconstituentassemblyelectionwillbeheldevenaftersixmonths.B、AllagreementsbetweentheCPN-
TheUSeconomyshouldexpandmodestlyincomingmonthsasahealthyjobmarketcontinuestotrumpweaknessinhousingprices,a
A、TheShangri-LaDialogueshouldattractmoredefenseministersandseniorsecurityofficials.B、Germany,SriLankaandBanglade
InBritain’soverheatedpropertymarket,theonlythingshotterthanthepricesofthehousesforsalearethefirmsthatbuild
OfallthetroublesthatUStroopsmayfacewhentheycomehome,gettingtheiroldjobsbackshouldnotbeone.UncleSamsuppos
随机试题
某单线铁路隧道要求工期36个月,全长7.5km,只有进出口有进洞条件,隧道中间高洞口低,出口洞口段有20m长的坡积层,厚度较厚;进口段为风化岩有部分节理判定为Ⅲ级围岩,进洞施工时为旱季。问题:隧道应采用何种施工方案?
预定火车票说明:假设你是公司的后勤人员,写信预定火车票。内容:1.数量:5张火车票;2.日期:7月20日星期天;3.时间:下午5:00;4.要求:非吸烟车厢,从合肥到杭州;5.随函附:250元支票,一个贴好邮票、写好地址的信封。
鉴别肝外胆管结石或肿瘤性梗阻,有利于结石诊断的是
与恒牙不相似的乳牙是
纳税人有特殊困难,不得按期缴纳税款的,经县级以上税务机关核准,可延期申报,但最长不得超过()。
采用统计模型法来计算违约概率的理论依据是( )。
操作风险报告的主要内容不包括()。
政府用于偿还国债的资金来源有( )。
宫某系某大学教授,2009年1~12月收入情况如下:(1)每月取得工资薪金4000元。(2)出版图书,取得收入80000元。(3)接受出版社委托审核稿件,取得收入30000元。(4)购买体育彩票,一次性中奖收入5万元,将其中的1万
上海老街从东到西的建筑风格和业态布局展示了老上海从明清向民国西洋文化涌入时期的一段历史文化演变。()
最新回复
(
0
)