U.S. Patent Reforms Needed to Spur Innovation | The Worldwide Economics Department Network
U.S. Patent Reforms Needed to Spur Innovation,
Global Competition
The Council on Foreign Relations (the premier
think tank devoted to independent
analysis of U.S. foreign policy and global political
relations) published Professor Maskus’
report Reforming US Patent Policy: Getting
the Incentives Right, Special Study no. 19. In
the report issued in November 2006,
Professor Maskus argues that the U.S. patent
system has become increasingly inefficient
and costly for companies that want to build
on the ideas of original inventors. The report
concludes that well-meaning, but shortsighted,
legal conventions about patent protection
are hindering innovation and competition.
Among his recommendations for improving
U.S. patent laws, Professor Maskus argues that
the nation should “return to basic patenting
principles and restore the system to one that
encourages innovation rather than extraction
of payments from legitimate competitors.”
Professor Maskus also recommends that the
U.S. abandon attempts to push for international patent standards that conform to the
U.S. system. Such efforts tend to create distrust
in other industrialized nations and resentment
of overall U.S. trade policy in the developing
world, he contends.
To read the full report, go to the Council on
Foreign Relations at www.cfr.org/publication/12087.