IFPRI Study: Publish or Patent?

“Publish or Patent? Knowledge Dissemination in Agricultural Biotechnology”, a discussion paper published by the International Food Policy Research Institute, notes a significant shift from fundamental to applied research in developing countries such as China and India. In addition, a trend from journal publications to patents as a means of knowledge dissemination during the past few decades has also been noticed.

Authors An Michiels and Bonwoo Koo say that the trend poses several challenges. First, patents tend to limit access to the technology, since they require users to obtain a licensing agreement with the patent holder. Second, public sector institutes, which use others’ proprietary technologies without acquiring formal license, are increasingly vulnerable to patent infringement claims. Third, there has been a small movement toward open access to technology in the biotechnology area, similar to open-source projects in the software industry.

Go to http://www.ifpri.org/pubs/dp/ifpridp00795.asp for a copy of the discussion paper.