[FSUG-Bangalore] Intellectual Property Regime Stifles Science and Innovation, Nobel Laureates Say

[Anivar Aravind]

http://www.ip-watch.org/weblog/index.php?p=1129

The basic framework of the intellectual property (IP) regime aims to
"close down access to knowledge" rather than allowing its dissemination,
Professor Joseph Stiglitz said at a 5 July lecture on "Who Owns
Science?" Stiglitz, a 2001 Nobel Laureate in Economics, and Professor
John Sulston, a 2002 Nobel Laureate in Physiology/Medicine, launched
Manchester University's new Institute for Science, Ethics and Innovation.

Both were highly critical of today's patent system, saying it stifles
science and innovation.

IP is often compared to physical property rights but knowledge is
fundamentally different, Stiglitz said. It is a public good with two
attributes - "non-rivalrous competition" and non-excludability - meaning
it is difficult to prevent others from enjoying its benefits. That runs
counter to IP regimes, which are worse than exclusion because they
create monopoly power over knowledge that is often abused, he said.

Patent monopolies are believed to drive innovation but they actually
impede the pace of science and innovation, Stiglitz said. The current
"patent thicket," in which anyone who writes a successful software
programme is sued for alleged patent infringement, highlights the
current IP system's failure to encourage innovation, he said.
[...]
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