Comments on: Maximizing nanotechnology patent benefits http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2497 examining transformative technology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 18:23:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Phillip Huggan http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2497#comment-290221 Phillip Huggan Thu, 21 Jun 2007 19:00:05 +0000 http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2497#comment-290221 The USA wouldn't want to make any policy change that lowers overall R+D funding (debt interest and demographics will soon be facilitating this). If gross fortunes are being made here the easiest way to rebalance things is to have the federally funded patents offer business warrants to Uncle Sam if a certain profit threshold is reached. Then comes the messy tasks of whether to allow the company to buy out the goverment's share, and the necessity of being ready to sue a previous client. Any solution that lowers federal government spending must at least replace it with other sources. Public R+D annually returns more than the 6-9% it costs to service as public debt. There is just an annoyingly long delay to recoup investment while a product's lifecycle occurs. The USA wouldn’t want to make any policy change that lowers overall R+D funding (debt interest and demographics will soon be facilitating this). If gross fortunes are being made here the easiest way to rebalance things is to have the federally funded patents offer business warrants to Uncle Sam if a certain profit threshold is reached. Then comes the messy tasks of whether to allow the company to buy out the goverment’s share, and the necessity of being ready to sue a previous client.
Any solution that lowers federal government spending must at least replace it with other sources. Public R+D annually returns more than the 6-9% it costs to service as public debt. There is just an annoyingly long delay to recoup investment while a product’s lifecycle occurs.

]]> By: Lex Spoon http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2497#comment-261493 Lex Spoon Tue, 12 Jun 2007 21:02:28 +0000 http://www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=2497#comment-261493 My knee-jerk reaction is that publicly funded research should not be patentable. Universities are supposed to gather knowledge for all of us, aren't they? And public science funds are supposed to promote science, aren't they, as opposed to a university's business interests? I have not thought about the issue carefully, but I would prefer to see federally funded research not being allowed to be patentable at all. My knee-jerk reaction is that publicly funded research should not be patentable. Universities are supposed to gather knowledge for all of us, aren’t they? And public science funds are supposed to promote science, aren’t they, as opposed to a university’s business interests?

I have not thought about the issue carefully, but I would prefer to see federally funded research not being allowed to be patentable at all.

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