• Economist, Friday, September 7, 2007 12 PM

Few in the technology biz would dispute that the patent system is in need of fixing, especially when it comes to software. But a patent is a powerful thing, and the number of applications--particularly technology-based patents--has risen markedly over the past several years. The result for applicants is painfully long delays. The result for many unsuspecting innovators is a lawsuit (see Economist article for chart).

Together, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Britain's Intellectual Property Office and the European Trade Office are evaluating a way to change the broken system. The idea is called "Peer-to-Patent," and it involves adding peer review to the patent process that allows anybody who is interested to publicly comment on a patent application via the Internet. The project, supported by the likes of IBM, Microsoft and HP, was launched on June 15th in the U.S.

"An efficient patent system is essential for the promotion of innovation," says the Economist. It's both necessary and efficient to give innovators a temporary monopoly on ideas to make creating them worthwhile, while providing the transparency to allow others to build on it. However, when patents are granted to ideas that aren't novel, the system has the opposite effect of hampering innovation. As the report says, a patent system soliciting comments will surely be bogged down by the vested interests of major corporations--but at least it's a step toward fixing an outdated system.

Read the whole story at Economist »