tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post4123849859631238697..comments2024-03-05T10:52:24.691+00:00Comments on Mark Wadsworth: Fun Online Polls: Intellectual Property rights & Complete ChaosMark Wadsworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-74905787319054725902014-06-17T09:55:15.442+01:002014-06-17T09:55:15.442+01:00Din, AFAIK, the idea of a patent was to allow an i...Din, AFAIK, the idea of a patent was to allow an inventor to publish their ideas (make them patent, as in "patently obvious") whilst receiving some sort of state protection against copying. This was to prevent ideas being kept secret and then dying with their inventor. One of the most well known of these was the material "Coade stone", which was never patented, probably because Mrs Coade didn't trust the patent system, and so the formula for it was eventually lost.Bayardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15211150959757982948noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-16058615440941601342014-06-17T09:35:56.897+01:002014-06-17T09:35:56.897+01:00I read that patents were invented in Florence to e...I read that patents were invented in Florence to encourage trade guilds to not keep secrets and in so doing promote wealth all round. And so in that sense the original granting of a patent makes society wealthier in the first place.Dinerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14632385731642361211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-46709842512128080612014-06-16T19:49:40.275+01:002014-06-16T19:49:40.275+01:00TS, PC, it is a balance; with patents, the protect...TS, PC, it is a balance; with patents, the protection period is possibly too short (and with copyrights, far, far too long), but on the other hand, patents are handed out far too liberally to large corporations (yes Apple, Samsung et al, this means you) and quite probably Big Pharma as well. Monsanto just takes the piss.<br /><br />But that wasn't the point of the post, it was, as per usual, about land ownership :-)Mark Wadsworthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07733511175178098449noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-15802210524770837062014-06-16T14:06:51.325+01:002014-06-16T14:06:51.325+01:00I think the whole concept of patents are on the co...I think the whole concept of patents are on the contrary most notably at fault regards medical patents.<br />They have become quite damaging in terms of limiting the types of research undertaken and hence progress being made as well as being highly extractive in terms of rents granted. It's to this end that people like <a href="http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07/14/how-intellectual-property-reinforces-inequality/?_php=true&_type=blogs&hp&_r=0" rel="nofollow">Joe Stiglitz</a> and <a href="http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/intellectual_property_2004_09.pdf" rel="nofollow">Dean Baker</a> amongst others have been active in presenting the case for some alternative.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1141932539860553199.post-10324263846820809082014-06-16T13:04:01.859+01:002014-06-16T13:04:01.859+01:00You're right to say it's a balance. I thin...You're right to say it's a balance. I think the term for patents aren't too far wrong, especially medical patents, but copyright is way out of line. <br /><br />My own opinion is that 20 years for copyright from when the work was published is sufficient. Most works make the bulk of their money within that period i.e. if you make it 20 years you won't stop JK Rowling writing her books or Coldplay making records.<br /><br />It's worth noting that some of Shakespeare's works are adapted from other works. Romeo and Juliet was a folk tale that became a poem, that became a piece of prose. Shakespeare then improved on that prose. Today, he'd be getting a cease and desist notice for doing so.Tim Almondhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13369256383976094670noreply@blogger.com