International Patents
As technology pushes the boundaries of innovation everyday, companies and people will constantly be looking for ways to protect their inventions and intellectual property from others. Patents an essential part of this process, and it is important that the patent holders get their inventions protected not just in their own country but worldwide as well. It would not make sense to only have a patent be protected in a particular region because someone else in the world could simply take the idea that was made public and benefit from it.
One of the major problems with patents is that patent laws are not completely uniform in all parts of the world. As former USPTO chief states, "the solution to the US's patent problems are international." Some lawsuits of patent infringements are won in other countries while others are lost is the result of differing legal systems, legal precedences, and judges in different parts of the world. The same also applies for how verdicts are handled as well. For example, in the United Kingdom, Apple lost the lawsuit battle that attempted to claim that Samsung infringed on Apple's patents. As a result, the U.K. courts ordered Apple to post an apology letter on their website for one month stated that Samsung did not infringe on Apple's patents. In the U.S., if Apple had lost the battle, the courts likely would not have ordered this kind of penalty against Apple.
Having such discrepancies in patents laws throughout the world makes it particularly difficult for companies and individuals to enforce their patents. Even if they can enforce a patent in country it does not mean they can expect the same enforcement in another. Cost is also another factor because companies have to pay litigation and lawyers costs for each individual country; which as you can imagine adds up.
Fortunately, for the most part, there are certain basic international patent and treaty laws in place that allow countries to at least recognize patents from different countries. However, there is nothing that enforces how a judicial system in each country handles litigations. Do you think that there should be a stricter international patent system? Do you think such a system is even possible? Should countries recognize each others' precedences?
It seems that the forces of globalization are at play here - while we already live in a globally integrated economy, with goods and services being readily traded internationally, global institutions have not yet caught up. In cases that exceed national jurisdictions, in questions that breach the scope of the purview of national governments, we need international solutions and regulations. Surely, a more uniform and rigid patent system seems like a worthwhile thing towards ensuring fairness.
ReplyDeleteHow to achieve such a system is a good question. In my opinion, the answer lies with international trade organizations and supra-national organizations like the EU. Either within the framework of a legitimized body like the United Nations or initially on regional scales in the EU or ASEAN for example, patent standardizations should be implemented.
On the subject of international patents, you might be interested in researching patent harmonization and Indian compulsory licensing.
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