Biotech Inventions and Patent Regime

Exclusivity rights implicitly granted by patents are a hindrance to knowledge diffusion and enhancement, yet no practical suggestion on how to overcome the problem has been made. This issue is very much of a concern in the context of biotechnology, where greater flexibility is needed. T.V.S. Ramamohan Rao of the Indian Institute of Technology proposes a practical approach by which a slightly more extensive knowledge disclosure from patent applicants is required.

Rao suggests that an innovator at the final product stage can recover costs when a marketable final product is available. This will require a modification of the patent regime since the early stage innovators will be under obligation to provide the knowledge on a non-exclusionary basis. This accelerates knowledge diffusion, says Rao, while preserving the appropriateness of intermediate discoveries of knowledge. Hence, eventual benefits among discoveries of knowledge can be given payments proportional to the costs incurred in each stage of research and development.

Read the full article in the Asian Biotechnology and Development Review or email T.V.S. Ramamohan Rao at rmrao@iitk.ac.in