Why we introduces the idea of patent?
Patent is a commercial idea based on market. A patent is a limited property right the government gives inventors in exchange for their agreement to share details of their inventions with the public. Like any other property right, it may be sold, licensed, mortgaged, assigned or transferred, given away, or simply abandoned.[1] We can see the rationale of patent is to disclose the innovations to public domains for common good. What to do if patents are going to violate this original rationale? Should we still protect patents or abandon it?
What can be patented? What can’t or shouldn’t?
In order to apply for a patent the inventor should provide information about how to made and use this invention. Basically, this is a kind of knowledge about “how”. So patent is both a special knowledge and a private property(intellectual property). Usually, a private property such as a chair is unique in the world and can not be given to others without losing it. But knowledge and information are different. We can transmit them without losing them. This is how education and media works. Patent means you can know it but you can’t use it without license or permission. But people naturally can make use of their knowledge. It should be legal for people to make use of their knowledge to know and help themselves. So there is a question, should a special knowledge be patentable?
Case 1:
There is an interesting case about patent. Mr. Bowman bought gene-modified seed from Monsanto company to plant in his form. For that second crop, he bought seeds from a grain elevator filled with a mix of seeds in the reasonable hope that many of them contained Monsanto’s patented Roundup Ready gene.[2] Monsanto brought Mr. Bowman to the court for abuse of seeds with their patented Roundup Ready gene. Mr. Bowman argued that it is the natural right to make any use of the seeds that you bought. The patent should be in exhaustion when I bought the seeds from grain elevator.
But Mr. Bowman still lost the case. This is what Justice Kagan said:
“Under the patent exhaustion doctrine, Bowman could resell the patented soybeans he purchased from the grain elevator; so too he could consume the beans himself or feed them to his animals. But the exhaustion doctrine does not enable Bowman to make additional patented soybeans without Monsanto’s permission, that is precisely what Bowman did.” [3]
Case 2
There is another case, a farmer grow his corn in his form. But his neighborhood grew gene-modified corn, by accident the wind blow the pollen with modified gene to his farm. So his corn also had the modified gene. But the farmer planted corn for a Japan company that only want corn without modified gene. So he can couldn’t sell his corn to the company and lost lot of money. Who should pay for his lost?
Case 3
A family invented a new kind of food(toy for cat). They keep the making process secret. But later it has been stolen and patented. Although they have made this new food for many years, now it become illegal to keep their business without paying for the patent. Is it fair? How about second time independent invention?
Although, in the first case, Mr. Bowman was intently to make use of the loophole of second buying. But it still annoy my nerves when thinking of gene-modified plant take the place of the other plants that farmers can grow and plant without any limitation, gene-modified food went into market without label, modified gene go to other plan species without control. A question emerged from this case is that Should gene be patentable?
How about human gene? Here is an interesting video “Who Owns You? 20% of the Genes in Your Body are Patented”.[4]
This let me reflect the following questions: Should human gene be patentable? Will these patents prohibit us to know more about ourselves and make use our knowledge to benefit ourselves? Will this go against individual human rights? Is patent, or commercialization a good idea in education and human society in future?
References:
[1] Patent - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
[2] Supreme Court to Hear Monsanto Seed Patent Case - NYTimes.com
[3] Monsanto Victorious in Seed-Patent Case - NYTimes.com
[4] Who Owns You? 20% of the Genes in Your Body are Patented | Singularity Hub
