Patent office issues final rejection of NTP patent

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Not quite the basis

Considering that the primary purpose of patent law is supposed to provide pecuniary incentive to inventors to encourage the invention of new devices, compounds and processes, a prerequisite for getting a patent is the invention in question must be unique enough to not be a creation of an ?obvious? nature.

No, that's the secondary purpose. The primary purpose is to have inventors reveal the "new devices, compounds and processes", in exchange for a limited monopoly, thereby guaranteeing that the public will have access to the knowledge. Prior to the grant of the limited monopoly patent, such invention was secret, and did not yield a societal benefit. The primary purpose is "Tell us how you did it. The secondary purpose is to encourage new inventions. The primary incentive for both is a potential pecuniary reward, but that reward was supposed to come through the inventor bringing the product to market, not the inventor leaching off the risks taken by others.

At least on the ad arguendo, we agree.

Posted by: John Le'Brecage   Posted on: 02/23/06 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use

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