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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Fundamental Deficiencies of the American Patent Law
Contributor:
Kahn, Alfred E.
Published:
The American Economic Association, 1940
Published in:
The American Economic Review, 30 (1940) 3, Seite 475-491
Language:
English
ISSN:
0002-8282
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
The patent law is basic to the patent system. By analyzing the former we may explain the weakness of the latter. The law makes certain rather obvious "economic" assumptions which are inapplicable to the modern economy. But the most important--and most fallacious--assumption is its individualistic conception of the process of invention. In fact, invention is a group process, the individual contributions being relatively minor. In modern industrial research this is particularly so. A grant of separate proprietary rights over each inventive contribution thus imposes barriers to further innovation and reduction to practice to the whole. The economic system has had to remove these barriers. But this has involved the creation of large patent pools, with consequent dangers of injustice, and monopoly. In addition, the confusion entailed by the application of the single patent to modern technology has offered to the powerful legal methods of unfair competition. The result is often injustice, perpetual legal monopoly over whole industries, and the danger, at least, of technological retardation.