Patents Chilling Effect on Science 383
cheesedog writes "The American Association for the Advancement of Science recently conducted a survey on the effect of patenting on the sciences. The results are frightening: 1/5th or more of all research projects in the United States are being chilled by patent holders. The sheer amount of research being canceled because of licensing issues is astounding, but at the same time many of these researchers hold their own patents and therefore contribute to the problem."
Shear (Score:1, Informative)
From the summary: "The shear amount of research..."
According to Webster,
shear
Function: noun
1 a cutting implement similar or identical to a pair of scissors but typically larger -- usually used in plural.
2 chiefly British : the action or process or an instance of shearing.
3 internal force tangential to the section on which it acts -- called also shearing force
What I think they meant to say was:
sheer
Function: adjective
3 a: UNQUALIFIED, UTTER b : being free from an adulterant : PURE, UNMIXED c : viewed or acting in dissociation from all else
Actual report (Score:1, Informative)
Re:I can vouch for this first hand (Score:3, Informative)
Either the grandparent is mistaken or confused, and you are correct. Patents are published so that others can use and improve them. You can not use them in commercial products, though. But if it is a valid patent it would be available on the USPTO website, available to researchers to use for research projects.
If the code is copyrighted, then you won't be able to see it unless you sign their forms etc. (assuming the source isn't just floating around online) as you do not need to submit the entire work to the Copyright Office to get a copyright, and even when submitted for registration it is not published online.
That being said, you could develop your own code that performs exactly the same function in exactly the same way and as long as you can prove you had no access to the original (or if the hardware requires constraints that everyone would have to use), then you are in the clear, even if it 'infringes.' Getting a registered copyright costs little more then a stamp - its nothing like a patent. Since they won't release the code to you without a contract, you have a strong case that you didn't have access to it and developed the code on your own. So there is no problem with you developing your own code, or, if it truly is patented, seeing the patent and implementing the code as long as its for research.
Re:Double Edged Sword (Score:5, Informative)
What the fuck are you talking about? Patent terms in the US were 14 years from issue, then 17 years from issue, then 20 years from filing. No renewals; in fact, you generally have to pay up periodically just to get the full, single, term.
I think you're confusing patents and copyrights (which originally were 14+14 years)
That means that knowledge would be locked down for a maximum of 34 years.
Publication requirements ensure that knowledge isn't 'locked down.' It's not directly usable, perhaps, but it's commonly available.
Re:Double Edged Sword (Score:3, Informative)
2 cents,
Queen B
Total UNINFORMED BS (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Double Edged Sword (Score:3, Informative)
Now, however, that the patent has expired this is a standard feature on most automobiles.
It appeared on most automobiles long before the patent expired. A family friend sat on the jury when it went to trial with one of the big auto companies. According to this: http://www.inc.com/magazine/19971201/1374.html [inc.com] he's collected about $30M so far from Ford and Chrysler.
shear != sheer (Score:3, Informative)
define:sheer [google.com].
Although when talking about about researched being cancelled, shear does make for pretty vivid imagery. baaah!
Re:Monopolies are always bad (Score:3, Informative)
Like say copyright?
From the great-grandparent:
Copyright gives incredible power to the top publishers (with a lock on book stores), the recording industry, and the movie distributors.
And software developers even moreso it appears... Not everyone has to read the same book, but there's incredible pressure to do so with say operating systems.
Biopiracy and patents in the Amazon and the sea (Score:3, Informative)
In another example, Mr. Craig Venter wanted to collect microorganisms from the shores of Brazil, but the government did not allow his boat to come in a 200-mile distance from the coast. Today, he's on newspaper saying the Brazilian government hinders research, but all the government wants is that any commercial benefits be shared. All Craig Venters wants is to steal.
Biopiracy is another aspect of the patent system gone wrong. Except, it's one that doesn't affect developed countries. Brazil is a Latin-American powerhouse that can and will muster a reaction everytime this happens, but there are smaller countries that cannot.
In fact, the whole thing of biopiracy and patents is absurd. The notion that organisms found in the Amazonian rain-forest "belong" to Brazilians is absurd, but so is the notion that a foreign company can come into this country, collect plants and organisms, go back to its original country and file a patent for a molecule or a gene.