OVERVIEW

• PATENT= BASIC HUMAN RIGHT
• PATENTS LEAD TO IMPROVED DEMOCRACY
• WHAT IS THE PCT?
• PATENTS ARE TOOLS FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH
• PATENTS ARE TOOLS FOR BOOSTING ACADEMIC –INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS LEADING TO TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER
• WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INDICATORS
• THE CENTRAL ROLE OF WIPO AND THE PCT IN DEVELOPING IP PROTECTION WORLDWIDE

PATENT = A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT

• PATENT APPLICATIONS ARE THE MEANS BY WHICH AN INVENTOR OR GROUP OF INVENTORS ARE ABLE TO OBTAIN RIGHTS FOR THEIR INVENTIONS.
• FOR EXAMPLE, THIS APPEARS IN THE US CONSTITUTION, "TO PROMOTE THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE AND USEFUL ARTS, BY SECURING FOR LIMITED TIMES TO AUTHORS AND INVENTORS THE EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO THEIR RESPECTIVE WRITINGS AND DISCOVERIES." 

   see:- https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/intellectual_property_clause  Article I, Section 8, Clause 8

• ALL DEVELOPING COUNTRIES SHOULD CONSIDER THE RIGHTS OF THEIR CITIZENS. THE MORE RIGHTS PROVIDED TO THE CITIZENS, THE MORE INCENTIVES TO THE INDIVIDUAL TO  SPECIALIZE, FLOURISH AND INNOVATE.

AN INVENTOR SHOULD BENEFIT FROM HIS/HER INVENTION

HISTORY 1790-1920 PROVES: PATENTS LEAD TO IMPROVED DEMOCRACY

HISTORICAL COMPARISON OF AMERICA TO BRITAIN AND FRANCE (OLIGARCHIC ORIGINS)  FROM 1790–1920

   U.S. PATENT AND COPYRIGHT INSTITUTIONS WERE CAREFULLY   CALIBRATED TO PROMOTE THE GENERAL WELFARE.

“The United States created the first modern patent system, and its policies were the most liberal in the world toward inventors. When markets expanded, these inventors contributed to the proliferation of new technologies and improvements, many of which proved to be valuable in both economic and technical terms. Individuals who did not have the resources to directly exploit their inventions benefited disproportionately from the operation of efficient markets. The accumulation of such incremental efforts helped to propel the United States to the forefront of all other industrial nations.”

 see:- Khan, B. Zorina. The Democratization of Invention: patents and copyrights in American   economic development, 1790-1920. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

CAN YOUR COUNTRY CLIMB UP THE PATENT LADDER?

WHAT IS THE PCT?

PCT – The International Patent System
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) assists applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions, helps patent Offices with their patent granting decisions, and facilitates public access to a wealth of technical information relating to those inventions. By filing one international patent application under the PCT, applicants can simultaneously seek protection for an invention in 151 countries. http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/

THE CENTRAL ROLE OF WIPO IN DEVELOPING IP PROTECTION WORLDWIDE

• Prior to the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty, 1970), inventors had to file national-phase patent applications within one year of their priority filing (under the Paris Convention), meaning that they needed to have the funds to file in many countries within one year.
• International PCT patent applications provide an 18 month "umbrella" time for individuals and companies to raise funds for filing their national phase applications after 30/31 months from the priority filing. http://www.wipo.int/pct/en/texts/time_limits.html

PCT Applications in 2011 – by Country of Origin

WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (IP) INDICATORS

WIPO issues a report concerning World Intellectual Property Indicators. These include lists of the countries with the most

A) patent applications

B) issued patents

C) design applications

D) granted design patents.

THE MORE IP, THE RICHER AND MORE POWERFUL THE COUNTRY

see http://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/wipi/index.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Intellectual_Property_Indicators
http://hooverip2.org/wp-content/uploads/ip2-wp16004-paper-1.pdf

PATENTS ARE TOOLS FOR ENCOURAGING AND BOOSTING ACADEMIC –INDUSTRIAL PARTNERSHIPS

LEADING TO TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER

Israel  went from poverty to affluence

DEVELOPING COUNTRY in 1962  GDP = 2.6 BILLION US$ ->
DEVELOPED COUNTRY in 2016  GDP = 306 BILLION US$

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/israel/gdp

SEE FOR EXAMPLE Mowery, David C., et al. "The growth of patenting and licensing by US universities: an assessment of the effects of the Bayh–Dole act of 1980."Research policy 30.1 (2001): 99-119.

ADDITIONAL TOOLS FOR STRENGTHENING YOUR PATENT APPLICATION BEFORE FILING WORLDWIDE 

• ISR- The PCT mechanism provides an International Search Report (ISR) and a Written Opinion of a qualified examiner to the applicant within a few months. This enables the applicant to file amended claims, correct deficiencies in the specification and to decide on those bases, on how to proceed at the national level.
• CHAPTER II The applicant may also request a "Chapter II" examination, based on his/her amended claims to provide improved patentability for his/her invention.
• PPH -The improved application and claims can be used to expedite examination in a number of countries under the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).

 CONCLUSIONS

The PCT matters to your government, because, through its international patent application filing system, it improves:-

» innovation

» democracy

»human rights

»academic-industrial collaboration

»technology transfer

»international recognition

»wealth

–All for your country.

CAN YOUR COUNTRY SWITCH FROM BEING “DEVELOPING” TO BECOME “DEVELOPED”?

If you wish for your country to flourish, 
And your citizens to be well-nourished,
Support innovation,
Female education,
And maximize patent registration!

"Chorus"
If you wish your country to be rich,
And to climb out of the developing ditch,
Three letters, just remember,
From Jan to December,
"P.C.T." is the name of the switch!