Discussion Question: Does the patent system encourage or discourage technologica

Question

Discussion Question:

Does the patent system encourage or discourage technological innovation? What would happen if it were abolished? Can you think of an alternative that would better serve the needs of both inventors and the general public?

Please allow for sufficient time in reflecting upon these questions. Craft your response and provide narratives to support.

These discussions will begin the process of thinking and reflecting upon technology in both a critical and analytical manner. Begin to look beyond the ideas of good vs evil, right vs wrong, and begin to consider the construct and nature, the system and process, of technology.

Global Technology Subject. Thank you in advance.

Explanation / Answer

Patent system gives an individual or an entity the rights of making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing, or exporting an invention included in the patent’s claims for a definite amount of time. The individual or the company can use the patent system to generate money by manufacturing products related to the patent or by giving license to the third party for using that patent.
Patent system in general encourages technological innovation. A lot of companies spend a large amount of money in research and development. The idead behind this research and development is to generate products which will fetch them money in the future. Lack of patent system will ensure that any company can copy that idea and will be able to generate similar products, if that happens it will be very hard for small companies to start business as big coroporations with established business would be able to copy that idea and close down their competitiors.
A lot of innovations in pharma sector is done by companies who do a lot of R&D. These patents ensure that these companies can reap benefit of their hardwork till the patent period expires(15-20 years). Once the patent expires, other players are able to copy that drug which are known as generic drugs. The large scale manufacture ensures that the prices of drugs reduce eventually. If the patent system wouldn't have been there, there would be no motivation to invest in R&D and manufacture new and effective drugs.
Patent system still has some flaws assosciated with them, a patent holder cn charge exorbitant amount for the license which in turn could lead to a higher cost for the general public. Its also possible that some competitors try to go around the patent by developing products which are slightly different from the existing patent. Also the headace of patenting the product in every different country makes the entire process much more messy.
The changes which should happen to the existing system is the need of uniform global patent system. Any new patent should be valid in all countries globally. There should be an upper cap on how much money companies/individuals can charge for the patents. If the patent involves live saving drugs then the government should intervene and should make sure that the companies are well compensated by the goverment so that the drugs license can be provided to multiple companies and drugs prices reduce. There should be also special courts which should ensure that the legal problems in case of patent system don't delay the entire process of generating prducts from patents.   

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