Why don’t we dump all patent laws all around the world and stop restraining creativity and innovation?

Question

This question was asked at the Dropping Knowledge event on 9th September by Etienne Savard, 34, Beloeil, Quebec, Canada. To find out more about Dropping Knowledge check out our blog:

Dropping Knowledge in the UK: http://uk.blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-qT1KKPQoRKdVT4lowpJCljbFokkuIzI8?p=1048

Dropping Knowledge in the US: http://blog.360.yahoo.com/blog-d8pH0dcoRKeB12yOcnUQp.9VCFos?p=12745

To discuss this subject in more detail follow this link to the official Dropping Knowledge website: http://www.droppingknowledge.org/bin/posts/focus/8504.page

Answer 1

People act because there is incentive. While some may create wonderful contraptions to excercise their imagination, they would not have time to do so if it could not be profitable. They would be spending all their time working a job because, without patent laws, inventions would not bring profit. It is the very ability to sell an invention or innovation and make a profit which prompts innovation and invention. Without patent laws, any invention would instantly be copied by many people which would mean the original inventor would not make the profit, but whoever could afford mass scale advertising would make the profit while the inventor would suffer in silence. Patents and copyrights enable creativity and innovation.

Answer 2

Well, well - How much more knowledge can Dropping Knowledge drop? I think the knowledge pool was drained long ago for you. Once again you have reached new heights of stupidity! If patent laws were eliminated, then only the billion dollar corporations would benefit from ANY invention! Or the withholding of an invention, whichever the case may be. Is everybody in Canada this ignorant? Patent laws are not what restrains creativity or innovation, sir or ma'am, whichever you may be - big business that is making a fortune on things being the way they are, and buying someone's idea and shelving it is what does that, as in the case of the man that designed a carburetor that would get over a hundred MPG, but the oil industry relieved us of that pesky invention since it would have cost them billions of dollars a month! Once again, sir I say get your facts together before you ask such foolish questions.

Answer 3

I do not quite understand from where this notion that patent laws are intended to dampen creativity has come. In fact, the fear of strict implementation of these laws works in favour of safeguarding creativity.If thee were no laws or if their implemenaion was not rigid there wold have been no motivation for developing anything new for the moment it was out it would have been shamelessly copies by unscruplous elements to make profits.Even presuming they had gratefully acknowledgled the contrbution of the original inventor that would have been small satisfaction for the poor fellow because he would hve continued to remain poor or even bankrupt having spent his last fatrhing in procueing the wherewithal for deelopment the instrument.As it is he can take out a patent and anybody who wants to be benefitted from it has to pay the necessary fees to the innovator.This gave further incentive for the inventor to further finetune the process or develop another line.Even with the strict papents laws loopholes remain and unscruplous elements take advantage to escape the liability of payment and the matter hang for years in courts and the inventor left high and dry.The Soviet Union when it was there had not signed the international convention of copyright and the world outside Russia was deprived of their advantage so far as Russia was cncerned. Also the Russins made clandesine exports of the patented prodcts outside and harmed the interest of the non-Communist world.Even the intellectural propety rights were not recognised everywhere and it was only because of pressure from USA that the world joined the internatioal convention in this regard. It would ,therefore, be seen that the patent laws not only do not stop creativity and innovation but actually encourages these activiies by forstering a atmosphere in their favour.



Patent laws or Intellectual Property Rights laws are

Answer 4

Because it might restrain creativity and innovation!



Patents give value to an invention, whether that be the new cancer drug or the newest feature to come to your cell phone. Removing that value means that innovation can be discouraged. Why spend the time on research and development if, once completed, the idea will be open and available to the market, without any compensation to the one doing the R&D? And where would our penniless researcher go next?



I'm not maintaining the patent process is perfect, but remember that normal, everyday enforcement of patents doesn't make the news, but suspected abuse of the patent system, makes headlines (e.g. SCO v. IBM). I would suspect that is because patent and other IP abuses are rare, meaning that the system works the majority of time, if not the vast majority of time.

Answer 5

Dumping patent laws and allowing everyone to have access to knowledge equally and benefit would be ideal but sadly our current society is not. This would be alright in a society where people have a thirst for knowledge and are not encompassed in “foolish” meaningless greed.



The question being asked is very vague. It is only a part of what would make a perfect society. It cannot be implemented in this kind of a corrupt and most stupid society. If only people get that if they work together we would have advanced into the year 4000 AD. But instead wars in the name of religion and other acts of madness are being carried out by sentient beings.



All the answers here are proof enough of human idiocy. Answers such as...... how else would the inventors get cash, or the idea would be stolen otherwise.



Its not a question of steeling the idea, and good or bad (which is meaningless) but just being smart. Cooperation in a perfect society will only benefit everyone in it. If all of us did use our brains together with only the action as our soul intent we wouldn’t need patents.....



So till an ideal society comes along (and it wont be too long, ill make it happen in a few years) patents fit perfectly in this society.

Answer 6

Patent laws are there to protect those who create and innovate. Imagine someone working on a new product, investing money, time and energy into this product only to discover that on the day of its launch anyone can copy it and mass produce it without so much as a thank-you.

Patent laws exist to stimulate creativity and innovation. This is because they prevent unscrupulous companies from copying new inventions and benefiting from them without having done any of the hard work or having invested anything in it.

Why should anyone work hard to create something if it can be copied the day after? Companies would stop investing in research and development and just let others do all the hard work for them.

People who design new products need to be protected so they can receive some benefit from their investment. Otherwise nobody would bother.

Answer 7

Because that would just be a step away from communism. The whole point of the patent process would be to protect the good ideas and keep out the junk ones. A patent may cost a bit of money, but that would be to keep only the real success-minded folks in the game. Free enterprise. Every dumb idea should not be sprouted into fruition. It doesn't restrain creativity, your idea would stunt growth by taking away a challenge and competitive edge inventions thrive from.

Answer 8

it isn't regularly restraining creativity - that's extra motivating it. maximum folk, as we've discovered from many failed Marxist fashions, are inspired through money. agencies attempt to create a sparkling drugs, as an social gathering, because they understand the 'recipe' won't be able for use through the different organisation via patent regulations. this enables the organisation who created the drug to re-coop the cost of the creation of the drug and to also make a earnings. might want to you paintings flat out for no earnings? Patent regulations insure that creativity and innovation are take care of and may want to correctly be shared without huge losses to the guy who invented the product.

Answer 9

Creativity and innovation exist with or without patent laws. The laws simply mean that if I make something cool that I wish to make a profit off of, I can protect the idea.



If I have no desire to profit, I can share the knowledge freely in any of a million ways. Of course, if someone else profits off it, I have no protection.



What brilliant ideas do the Dropping Knowledge people think are not going forward?

Answer 10

I don't agree with getting rid of them, just loosening them a little bit. With all of the lawsuits over patents, noone is reaching their full potential. I would agree with it if there was a way to change human nature, though. we want to gain something from what we do, and the problem is that there enough people who prey on smaller powers that the patent laws have to exist. If there was a way to support all patents and make everything fair, it would be ok to drop the laws altogether. But that's not going to happen anytime soon. And there is also the fact that patents in a way encourage creativity. If someone could sell anything they want, they'd only look at what worked and say OK, I'll use that. And then the one who came up with the idea doesn't think that's fair, so they get mad and sue.

Would I like to dump all of those laws? Yes. Do I think it's going to happen anytime soon? No. But we'll see.

Answer 11

In the short run it might help consumers but in the long run it will cripple industrial creativity and innovation. For example, after 7 years of research, Pfizer develops a drug to treat diabetes. But, without patents, every fly by night pharmaceutical manufacturer jumps on board and creates a generic brand. They never invested the time or money to develop the drug but they get to reap the rewards from its sales. So, the question is why should Pfizer or any other pharmaceutical firm invest millions, if not billions, of dollars on a drug that they can't make money from.

Answer 12

Patent laws don't restrain creativity. On the contrary, they actually stimulate creativity and force people to innovate. Many a times it take years before an idea becomes a patent and then the inventor or company deserves the credit in terms of recognition and money to mass produce the idea. Once something becomes off-patent, you are free to reproduce it any way you want.



When something is patented, people look for alternatives or ways to bypass the patent. This can only be achieved by brain-storming and by knowing your limitations. Thus I disagree with the notion that patenting curbs creativity & innovation

Answer 13

becuase corperations wont let us, they do too much lobbing and pay out the politicians

;-)



People fear what they do not understand, if all we've known is $$$ how can we fathum FREE?

Such as free crativity... such as I made something but you can take it and expand or change it to suit you even if I don't get $$$ from it



People don't understand this...



So we need to show them a working modle...



That way they don't always say "it'll promote stealing"

;-)



We can ALL lead by example ... lets show how it's possible to live without patens ;-) After all there's new Creative Patens out there for the alternatives to Copyrighting LOL



Also people need to understand that one person just doesn't come up with something... We ALL build upon existing knowledge / data. Not to mention, who's to say a person 100 years ago didn't think of the same thing, and who's to say if no one provides their findings now that someone else will think of the very same or simular idea 100 years from now. Knowledge is free flowing and can accure at any time by anyone... so then how can we imagine having a monopoly on knowledge? On ideas? We can't unless we are compleately ignorant to all other FACTS!!! I mean socially it just occures, and mathmatically you could say the probebility will occur and even might have a re-occuring pattern through out history... some call it "the stream of couciousness". I'm not one of those odd ball people who give it a name and try to explain it like some Zen person would but I will say that the concept of such a thing can be founded on facts from science. Thus, how can we as an individual (or worse a coperation) own an idea? What are we the "thought policies"??!?! Are we going to ban people of accidentally "THINKING" of the same thing LOL?! Well, if we don't think of something now, it might reach that point.

;-)



::: Peace :::

Answer 14

Then why not dump all copyright laws, then? Why should an author like J.K. Rowling be allowed to sue people who copy her books for free and sell them?



Would people still take the time and effort to write books if they knew that they would never be able to recoup their expenses through sales? Maybe, since people write in order to express themselves, or to acquire fame, but there would be less of it.



Likewise, patents allow a company that has spent a large amount of money on R&D to stop other companies from getting a free ride on their research by copying or reverse engineering. If a company had no grantee of recouping their expenses, then there would be no incentive to fund expensive research.



Plus there is the general idea that it is immoral to simply "steal" someone else's idea without giving them some kind of credit for having come up with an idea and working out the bugs.

Answer 15

The second part of the question does not follow logically from the first part - if patent law were abolished, it's far from evident that the result would be less restraint on creativity and innovation - so I see no reason in bothering to answer this badly-formed question.

Answer 16

If it was not for a patent, there would be a free for all with everyone claiming a particular creation as being there's. Now the law courts would be full.



It has nothing to do with stopping creative thinking, as you can always modify someones elses design, taking it a step further and patent that

Answer 17

Because companies invest millions of dollars to create new products if they know they will get a return on the investment. Why would I invent something just so you could copy it, make it slightly better and become rich? I came up with the idea and I want to protect it.



This actually encourages creativity in my opinion.



And just because a patent exists, doesn't mean you cannot use that technology. With licensing fees, you may sometimes be able to use that technology.

Answer 18

You have GOT to be kidding. Good people have put their very lives into the inventions that they have come up with. Some have invested their entire life savings into that little gizmo that YOU just sit there fiddling with and taking for granted. And, there are more people who have been swindled out of their rightful prize by folks like you that take advantage and then cash in.



And, you want to do this to, let me quote you, "...stop restraining creativity and innovation?" Let me get this straight, you take away the prize and that will give me an incentive to be creative and innovative. Take a leap.

Answer 19

Patent law is provided for in the 1st Amendment to the US Constitution, and it was put in there by Ben Frankiln. Not everyone is creative and inventive. The few who really have better ideas are usually the ones who die poor, like Nicola Tesla. He worked for Thomas Edison, who stole and patented dozens of ideas from his employees, whom he clearly wasn't paying enough for them to be able to develop their own ideas. In order for the creative to be able to survive without being too busy working at menial jobs to have time to think, there has to be some means of compensating them for their contributions. Even under current patent law, it is too difficult to protect an idea from greedy people who can't think of anything new themselves to **** all over the inventors by filing patents on top of the originals, but change a screw head or something. Then they use market forces to overwhelm the original, something which greed is an essential "talent" to pull off.

The problem is in patent law, and insufficient patent examiners to review and reject duplicate ideas. This is why we have 40 different products on the market to do the same thing, and only one of them does what it is designed to do. The rest is garbage shoved at an unwitting public that are now segregated as "consumers". The real consumers are the greedy bastards who are sucking the life out of "consumers".

However, with or without patent law, it is still possible to give ideas away so that creativity is never stifled. That's what I do, (the fax machine is one example) and I guess I'll die poor also. But then, everyone will essentially die poor, since we can't carry our wallets after our hands stop moving. The government takes those away as inheritance tax.

Incidentally, the question above sounds like it came from someone who is having trouble getting around patent laws, or has had their ideas usurped. It's hard to tell which.

Answer 20

~*~That's kind of an upside-down way of thinking! Patents are there to protect the hard working creator of any given item or idea from unscrupulous thieves. Why in the world would any honest intelligent person even consider doing away with such protection? Such protection does not slow or stop creativity or innovation, but promotes both by guaranteeing that protection.

Answer 21

In the short patents are important to creativity ,if you created it you want protection for your idea. Unfortunately patents are not all they appear for they in practice only protect the rich who can buy multiple patents. If you are a single person with an idea and you dutifully patent it a very large company can decide to use what you have done anyways and pay the fine. Patents should protect fully. If you know an idea you have will be protected that encourages more creativity from that individual. The Patent System needs an over haul but it has value today more than ever.



"Just tossing my Opinion in the Opinion Pool"

~A~

Answer 22

On one issue I agree with you: patents are worthless. For the same reason i strongly disagree with your point: patents are a published form of knowledge. You may read a patent and know how to do what the patent is protecting or trying to protect. Is a form of advertising of that particular knowledge, not a way of hiding it.

Answer 23

Patents prevent you from making money from something somebody else thought of first.



If they weren't in place, people would be stealing ideas/inventions so often it would lead many innovative people to not revealing anything or worse, not inventing anything.



If I invented a way to teleport people and wanted to develop it, I would take pride in knowing only I could make use of my own invention and do what I wanted with it without fear of being copied. I would be crushed if somebody found out how I did it and made money from it and took all credit for it and I got nothing.



Be sensible.

Answer 24

Creativity is not lessened or halted by restrictions for no one can lock someones mind up, however human nature has clearly demonstrated that by nature we want what others have and humans crave wealth via the easiest way and so stealing someones idea and marketing it as ones own happens without protection then people would be severely disadvantaged and I believe less likely to share with others.

Answer 25

And if you knew that your idea would be stolen and you'd never see a penny it makes, would you even bother having the idea?



Patent laws are important, but maybe they could be modified, so that anything Patented is guaranteed to be tried out, and not sit in a filing cabinet for 50 years.

Answer 26

Dumping all patent laws would be kind of like asking anyone with an innovative or creative idea to accept the fact you will never be compensated for your idea because anyone can copy it. Where does that leave innovation? Better to ask how we can better protect innovative ideas and the inventors from the ones that would prey on them. Being someone that has gotten burned several times, it does tend to dampen the spirit of innovation.

:(

...jj

Answer 27

Dropping it? Then there'll be no branding. Might as well not have rulers for all countries and make each country be under communist rules. Your iPod must be shared and your wage won't buy you a cruise. Think about the consequences of dropping 'laws' before you think about creativity. With patented laws, there's a restriction, but with restriction, the company is technically 'forced' to perform better. If you think you have a better idea, then do it, make it happen and file another patern yourself.

Answer 28

What if you had the cure for cancer? Imagine you couldn't patent that idea and you couldn't prevent the giant pharmaceutical corporations getting their hands on YOUR idea and profiting from it? Patents are there to protect individuals against these giant corporations.



If you had the cure for cancer you could patent that idea and you could earn enough to support your family for generations to come. Isn't that worth fighting for?



I think patent laws actually encourage creativity and innovation in individuals for this very reason.

Answer 29

To me the patent laws are what ensures creativity and innovation, without it there would be copies of copies and the value of the original would be diminished by inferior copies. Are we really being creative if we copy someone elses idea? or would creativity and being innovative be coming up with something unique, something original? There are more people in the world who would just copy, rather than be creative and innovative and come up with something unique.

Answer 30

Patent laws are necessary so that every little ridiculous thing is "invented" in our world, but at the same time, I wish patent laws and red tape were a little less strenuous to get through so that the truly innovative, useful and helpful inventions can get through to the rest of the public world quicker.

Answer 31

With this question you are not only dropping knowledge, but you are also dropping the ball. There are reasons for patent laws and you tell me how they restrain creativity and innovation.

Answer 32

The patent system is unfair. Only people in first world countries can afford to patent their ideas. There should be a scheme available for the poor allowing them to participate.

If everyone can't participate in the process then it is unjust.

Answer 33

Patents encourage invention and innovation by assuring prospective innovators and inventors rewards and protection from opportunists who would steal the fruits of their ingenuity.Outside of that yours is a good idea, like providing buggy-whips as standard equipment on new cars.

Answer 34

if you spend 150 million and 5 years in research will you give the result for free. Yes current IPR is too narrow minded indeed but it has increased competition, helped to improve quality of life. If you are speaking of taking off all IPRs, then i will ask how much is there for you to personally to loose. Yes i appreciate the contributions of a lot of people who have left their IPRs open you can change, contribute, modify it, to meet your specific goals. I feel there should be either a new system of rewarding for the efforts of the contributers, before any such move to scrap all IPRs. Otherwise people will gradually stop taking risk with money and time. Most people work to earn money, you should not forget this. I totally disagree with current IPR system where you get IPR for anything for manufacturing toothpicks to Rockets, The system should streamline itself to a more intelligent way, That will ensure continued investment in research and development.Process and product IPR should be reevaluated and be given a fixed time period. But none must be allowed to cash in on someone else's idea, money and time, The credits that belong to others should be duely acknowledged. Some features of GNU GPL are good for every purpose

Answer 35

Patent laws facilitate creativity and innovation. The problem is that the definition of what is patentable is too broad. For instance, in the U.S., it is permissable to patent a gene, even though it is not an invention. This makes research on ailments associated with that gene virtually impossible.

Answer 36

Dumb idea. Patent laws are there for a reason; to protect creativity. They do not restrain, but reward, creativity with a certain amount of protection.

If you came up with an idea to run an auto engine more efficiently and if you spent a million dollars in the process, you would want your idea to be protected when you bring the engine to the market. Without a patent, anyone can duplicate your product, possibly at a lower price, and where would that leave you and your millions in investment?

Answer 37

Patent laws are needed for inventors and creative people. However, like every system on this earth, some people take advantage, going against it's original intentions, for their own purposes. Unfortunately different 'companies' - that have certain interests - block or 'buy' up rights and then shelve them so the inventions don't ever reach the light of day. Who loses? Us - The general public - who would benefit from the many inventions lost in the dusty shelves of the Patent Offices.

Answer 38

Patent laws do not restrain creativity and innovation, they reward it, otherwise there is no incentive for anyone to create or improve on new products or processes, because innovation usually takes years of work and $1,000's of do;;ars, which without patent protection your work can be ripped of by others for their benefit :)

Answer 39

Yes I agree with the question you have asked here. The patent law was started by some bunch of people who wanted to monopolized and for only commercial purpose. Since then this is going on.



If you think patent is the only way to stop theft or stealing, NO it is not. It is our mutual TRUST and FAITH. Which we have lost only because of these kind of commercial activities.



Patent laws must be abandoned immediately.



[e-mail]

Answer 40

Patent laws are fine in the fact that there is a time limit. Your question needs the word patent changed to copyright. Copyright laws NEED to be changed and have a fixed time limit similar to patents to allow creativity and innovation.

Answer 41

I agree there is a problem with the current system. but I dont agree it restrains innovation. If drug discovery companies did not have patent protection then the fortunes required to get new drugs onto the market would be spent on something like real-estate development

Answer 42

Very simply: if we dropped patent laws, what motivation would there be for creative people to invent new things?



What reward system (other than a pat on the back and thank-you) would be suitable for someone who worked for years to invent or improve something, in long-shot that there might be a financial payoff (could be huge, but also most likely to be small)?



Why should inventors or scientists basically work for free for the benefit of everyone else?



Sarcasm On:

If patents were dumped, then everyone should work for free, including authors, musicians, playrights, designers or architects. Radio, television and newspaper reporters, too. There would be no need for copyrights to protect their works.



And of course, teachers, doctors, police and firefighters, farmers, factory workers, janitors, construction workers should also work for free, since they would benefit by not having to pay for products or services which are free, but formerly protected by intellectual property patents.



Sarcasm-OFF...



An interesting, but naiive question.



===========================



To those who gave 2 thumbs down, I'm not sure if you understood my sarcasm. Or whether you really believe that inventors should work for free.



If you actually think there should be no patents at all, then perhaps you should throw away every piece of technology you own (cars, computers, cellphones, TVs, etc) and flush all the medicine you have in the toilet. Don't read any books or newspapers. And you will grow all of your own food (don't try to buy any patented seeds, though.) Just go foraging in the wild. And of course, you will be making your own clothes from animal hides, too. Forget about electricity or gas, and get rid of all of your tools - just use sticks and stones.

Answer 43

Actually, patent laws foster innovation and creativity. The incentive is economical. You invent something worthwhile and you reap the rewards. You improve something and you get a new patent. I would wager that most inventions have transpired after the creation of patent laws.

Answer 44

This is a ridiculous question. The patent laws are there to protect the original inventor/creator. If one wishes to innovate or create, they can do so as freely as they like, so long as they don't copy someone else's innovation (which would then no longer be their own innovation, as someone else already came up with it).

Answer 45

WOW....



You guys really are a bunch of idiots. Patents, STIFLING innovation? Who would have thought.



Have you idiots ever read, "Atlas Shrugged." Probably not, takes too much time to read someone elses ideas. Man this KNOWLEDGE DROPPINGS is really an insult to any person who ever came up with a great idea.



Patents ENCOURAGE people to invent. Why would I want to invent an idea to have it stolen in some socialist system? What is this the freaking Star Trek Enterprise? The only motivation to invent is knowing your idea will be accredited to you. Lazy bastards. Come up with a real idea instead of asking asinine questions.



Move to China you f*cking communist idiot. You probably wear those stupid aS$ Che shirts too and think your hip.

Answer 46

That would limit creativity and innovation. If a person cannot get a fair return for their efforts, why would they bother? OK, a few would, but most of us need money to live on, and are therefore motivated by money to a significant degree.

Answer 47

Patent laws are to prevent big business from taking over all of the market in my eyes.



If a man invents an awesome device, but it's expensive to manufacture, a big buisness would be able to take it and out produce him.



While with patent laws, they would not be able to legally do that, giving the inventor a reasonable ammount of time to secure investments and manufacturing supplies in order to market it himself.

Answer 48

Patent laws actually help to drive innovation. Many areas of research involve very expensive technology. That technology has to be funded, and unless you have a huge bank account and still the drive to immerse yourself in research and development, you need someone to fund it. That funding needs to be secured. The question reminds me of one I was asked recently "why don't pharmaceutical companies provide drugs for the people that can't afford them?" (I work in pharma...). The answer - most pharma companies are owned publicly, by you and I, and we expect our retirement funds to actually be secured. Patents are an important part of securing our investments in these innovations.

Answer 49

The statement in that question is wrong.

Having patents that can be looked up help people with components towards things, and show how things are done.

Having this information resource helps out allot.

Ya it means people will get some money for there idea, and the part it played in making your project work.

But that's fair.

With out patents to reference progress would happen much slower.



In actual practice these documents accelerate innovation greatly, and help to gather use full implementers.

Answer 50

We are a long way past the time of Newton where you could sit under a tree and think up the laws of physics. Modern innovations cost millions of dollars to produce. There are government-funded research institutions, but most of it is done by privately-owned companies. These companies only invest this sort of money, because they believe it will give them a market edge. If patents were removed, billions of dollars would cease to be invested in the field of research and development.



It would be nice if we could live in a world where people helped each other, and we were all working toward a common goal, but unfortuneately, that's not going to happen in the forseeable future.

Answer 51

Okay,think about this. You come up with an invention. You design it,build it. And spend your own money trying to see what benefits this will do for people. With no Patent laws,someone else comes along with no effort,stels your idea and reaps the financial reward while you just stand there with your mouth open.

Answer 52

I don't know where you are getting your information (or anyone else for that matter), several millions of new ideas are born every second; no individual can stop their thought process, it's just some people act upon it, i.e., 'patent the idea', and some don't.

Answer 53

Patent laws are there to protect the intellectual property of inventors who wish to keep as their property and to prevent others from earning from what isn't theirs to earn from



Free will is there to share creativity and innovation free of charge

Answer 54

If we did this, then the little guy with a big idea would never have a chance against the big corporations. The laws are just fine the way they are.

Answer 55

If an inventor cannot reap the rewards and recognition of his or her brain-child, then what is the incentive to create or innovate?



This seems to be nothing but socialistic diatribe.



p.s. Alice in Wonderland is FICTION.

Answer 56

I don't think it's the patent laws, it's the use made of them by big companies that stifle creativity and innovation.

I f patents were restricted to a probation time of e.g. 5 years, after which time they had to be used in some way, or lapsed, at least some of the problems were solved.

Answer 57

Like everyone else has said, patent laws are there to protect creativity and give people the incentive to come up with new ideas.

Answer 58

Patents protect the investment in R&D of the inventors. One could argue that if the ancient world had possessed patents, they would have landed on the Moon by about 200 AD.

Answer 59

Uh, patents protect intellectual property?



Idealism is all well and good, but at least be sure to know your a from a hole in the wall.

Answer 60

Patent laws are in place to protect an idea from being stolen, if there were no patent laws then if you had a new invention or something, someone else could steal your idea.

Answer 61

Patent laws does not restrain creativity and innovation - it makes sure that someone does not take credit for something that someone else made or thought of before!@

Answer 62

Oh...my...gawd. This is definitely one of the stupidest questions I have ever read on this forum.



Exactly what will be the drive for someone to spend years or decades inventing something to make life better if they will gain nothing from it?

Answer 63

Gee. What is the incentive to invent something if everyone else gets to make the money on it? Profit is why the USA leads the world in innovation.

Answer 64

Patent laws don't restrict creativity, just the creative pilfering of someone ELSE's idea.

Answer 65

Ah yes so that the largest company with the cheapest faster labor can take advantage of the hard work of an inovative individual. Surely this would encourage people to pursue new technologies so they could be robbed of those ones too!

Answer 66

Who´s going to pay for the creativity and innovation?

Answer 67

I agree patent laws are there to protect people's ideas. As other people said it encourages people to come up with new ideas instead of using others. I personally wouldn't want to come up with something unique only to have someone else steal my idea. I'd want it protected

Answer 68

Because then the government wouldn't be able to tax and regulate someone's creativity, that and it wouldn't produce such a large price tags for your ideas.

Answer 69

We have a reason for the patents it's to keep people from profiting off your idea unless you agree to sell it.

Answer 70

Because my husband wouldn't have a job. He's a Patent Attorney - and damn good at what he does!



Having Patent Laws does NOT restrain creativity and innovation. It actually has the opposite effect.

Answer 71

I agree with regard to software patents - this in particular is stifling creativity and innovation. Copyright should be sufficient to defend the rights of software developers.

Answer 72

you are a complete and utter f*cking moron. don't you know that one of the reasons the united states is at the forefront of technology is because of the patent system? who are the idiots at yahoo that chose this question as a featured question? f*cking morons.

Answer 73

I think patents are good. Should be WAY easier to apply for though. Maybe 1% of proceeds could go to processing new applications so they would be free.

Answer 74

Patent laws do not restrain creativity, they encourage it. People with new ideas must be protected against those who would benefit from someone Else's creativity.

Answer 75

Sure I'll spend thousands of hours and millions of dollars on R and D so other companies can use our ideas for free!



What a communist loser!

Answer 76

No

Because patents are result of personal or corporate inventiveness, imagination, initiative, and investment.

It is intellectual property of sorts until patent runs out.

Why should one person or company bear cost of developing device or product only to have design given to world for free?

Answer 77

Because that removes the incentive structure for BEING creative and innovative. Creativity isn't hampered by obstacles, it's inspired by them, and what is innovation worth without adversity? You can't pull all the seeds out of the watermelon, and expect it to taste the same.

Answer 78

As an inventor and holder of three US Patents that provide me with about 70% of my annual income why would I have ever spent the thousands of hours working on my pumps if there was no financial protection.



You ma'am are loopy.

Answer 79

WHAT! put lawyers out of work.... for instance, you have a medical chemical...you have patent every carbon chain, atom etc that could attach to your formula....so money is the problem....only the elite moneychangers use patent laws to steal

Answer 80

patent laws are put there to stop all the creative people getting ripped off... if they werent there we probably wouldnt have half the gadgets we cant live without.... next time you're listening to your mp3 player think about it...

Answer 81

Incentive is the biggest motivator for creativity. Without ones idea flourishing with rights and protection that incentive seems innocuous and trite.

Answer 82

I am not reading any more, but I will not drop patent laws, they protect my ability to create and get compensated for my hard work.

Answer 83

Because too many dishonest people steal other people's ideas and call them their own and get the credit the originator deserves.

Answer 84

GOD U R ignorant!



The purpose of patent and copyright laws is to PROTECT the innovative creators, from those who merely copy, imitate, and duplicate the works of others, for profit.



Go to law school, corn--kernel brain.

Answer 85

Somebody told me that a lot of people can't afford all the money it costs to get a patent so they just skip it.



They build it and sell it and the heck with the patent.



Is that against the law?

Answer 86

How would you be able to obtain a product if it's not designed, marketed, built and sold? No one person could handle the manufacturing process unless the market demographics are small enough to make that possible. You are thinking like a liberal, /Communist /socialist /Democrat/ thief. What are they teaching you guys in school now days?

Answer 87

If a person invents something, they deserve the credit for inventing it. If there is no patent then a bunch of people can create the same thing and then no one really knows who invented it.

Answer 88

I understand your question. Its only philosophical from your point of view, if tomorrow is another reason to get it different and yesterday we all forgot on the basis of no community sharing, then yes we will find the future for inventors the same rigorous task of finding out their ideas are taken, slowly rather than quickly, and guys like us can't see the blue prints of things like hoovers and still say and who killed the dustmites...

And i'm sorry i didn't answer it...

Answer 89

if we did this, people will copy and take the praise for what the inventor created. we can see how patent has helped dyson maintain its dominant market, preventing and fining other brands for there preach in patenting.

Answer 90

I spend millions in research, come up with a novel idea and then jow blow steals my idea and research at no cost to him, makes my product cheaper (since he doesn't have to cover research expenses) and I go bankrupt. Where is the motivation for creativity? If anything I'll just follow him around and steal his ideas o.k.

Answer 91

It's not stopping creativity and innovation. You're just assuming that fact. It's actually promotioning a person to think for themself without stealing someone else idea.

Answer 92

Greed

Answer 93

Because if this happens people who create things that usually get patented will get no credit, mainly financial and because of this will not bother creating.

Answer 94

I think patent laws protect the inventer from exploitation. They can protect their idea and make loads of cash. It, if anything, encourages people to be creative and innovative in order to make lots of money.

Answer 95

Because the rich people make all the rules and own all the pattents.

Answer 96

Because it would make it unprofitable to be an inventor, and so it would actually stifle creativity and innovation!

Answer 97

The law was created not to discourage creativity so much as it was done to protect thievery and wealth from someone else's idea.

However, the law is beneficial to those wishing to halt progress.

Answer 98

I am in favour of it, knowledge should be available to all, things should be more accessible to all, things should be cheaper, then the disparities would be less and we would'nt fight for things.

Answer 99

Sure I'll spend months and months or years of work on a design just so EVERYONE can use it without having to pay me a dime for my work!



I often wondered just how stupid a person can be... now I know!



What a MORON!

Answer 100

No patent law means no profit for the inventor.

No profit means no motivation to invent.

No motivation to invent means no more inventions.

Answer 101

In a nutshell? Because then you get paid for copying what I invented...and I thought of it first.

Answer 102

It's possible- start a movement and lobby to repeal the constitution would be a start. My question to you: Why? Wouldnt you want your better mousetrap idea protected?

Answer 103

Why should we?a law is a law without a law there is no balance in a society creativity and inovation shall never strive.

Answer 104

patent law is to protect the inventor.

Answer 105

Patent laws reward creativity and innovation, thats the whole point of them. Whats the point in slaving away creating something new and miraculous, only to have somebody with a fraction of your talent from ripping it off inside a week once you finally bring it to market. Who's going to commit their life to pioneering new technologies on a very minimal budget if they will never get their just rewards. Think it through

Answer 106

dude, if you invent the cure for AIDS would you not have it patented? If your answer is YES, you're a hipocrite.

Answer 107

I wish questions like this (idiotic ones) would STOP being posted on this site!!

Damn! 'Droppingknowledge' must be a ****ing wasteland of ignorance.

Answer 108

all patent laws do are stop people from copying other peoples ides i dont beleive that by dumping all patent laws that it would stop people from creating new things

Answer 109

Those who can, create; those who cannot, protest against patent laws.

Answer 110

I do not know whether you people are joking, or not.Why would someone want to be creative and innovative if the fruits of their labor would not be protected?

Answer 111

The excuse is that all things have to be patented to avoid copying other people's idea's, but I think thats nonsense because all you have to do is change it very slightly & away you go

Answer 112

Millions of £s, $s are spent every year in research to invent new things. If companies didn't have the protection of patent law then the things we are used to having in our day to day lives would not exist. This applied especially to pharmaceutical companies. Why should companies spend so much money on research if they are not guaranteed getting their money back?

Answer 113

tell that to the person who spent sleepless nights to come up with that innovative invention.

Answer 114

patent laws don't restrain creativity they restrain copy cats. get your own idea and run with it

Answer 115

innovation is not easy. the people who came up with

all those new ideas worked hard to figure out how to make

them work and deserve to be rewarded for their efforts.

Answer 116

Doesn't patents just protect your creativity and keep things original? What's wrong with that.

Answer 117

Whatever we do with our mindbogglingly efforts if it is copied then our motivation to invent is affected.

Let's not drop Patent Laws.

there are plenty of other laws which we can drop.

Answer 118

Because capitalism, not communism, is the global economy.

Answer 119

How would creativity and innovation be encouraged by stealing the creativity and innovation of others? That's not creative and innovative, that's imitative and plagiaristic. And, on top of that, why would creative. innovative people give you their work for no reward. Patents encourage creativity and innovation because they guarantee a reward for it.

Answer 120

Because it would have the opposite effect.

Answer 121

because if one person invents something and 50 years later someone could invent the same thing and they could make as much money as the other one

Answer 122

Because you'll be stealing money and well-being from those who the ideas belong to.

Answer 123

I have read that companies would not spend money on research if they did not stand to reap huge rewards

Answer 124

I agree with Monkey Harris.



You're really off the mark with this one. I'm not sure why YA keeps featuring these questions...

Answer 125

Because no one will be able to make any money on their ideas or inventions.

Answer 126

Why dont't you head jerks get your own website. You are scamming and your questions are not questions at all. You hava all the Intelligence of a box of Cracker Dung.

Answer 127

Surely patent laws encourage creativity though? By stopping someone from copying an existing design it forces them to create their own.

Answer 128

Because the cost in profit would be to much to bear.

Answer 129

obviously you don't make a living as an inventor or you'd know that patents and copyrights are what make inventions and artistic en devours profitable

Answer 130

Are YOU trying to steal someone elses invention, by chance? Come up with your own inventions. It's more legal, and you can keep yourself out of jail.

Answer 131

Then everyones ideas would be stolen, misinterpreted and manipulated. The financial incentives of invention stimulate creativiy they do not stifle it.

Answer 132

is it possible for u if u have created any invention and any one use it and makes profit I n my veiw we should not dump it but it must be more and more accurate.

Answer 133

That's very simple. It would ruin the global economy.

Answer 134

NO-Sounds like "Big Brother" stuff to me.

Answer 135

I disagree. Patent laws are set to ensure that people who come up with a unique and original idea are protected from having it stolen by large corporations.

Patent laws do not restrain creativity and innovation, they encourage it. I think you're wrong on this one. Sorry.

Answer 136

I THINK, YOU ARE, ALL MIXED-UP. PATENT LAW IS FOR RESTRINING COPYING NOT INNOVATION & CREATIVITY.

Answer 137

What's with all your Dropping Knowledge questions? I think you're name dropping, but for what reason? You have something to gain in promoting the web sites? Seems so to me.

Answer 138

why they at YAHOO ANSWER do not dump YOU from Anwers?



You are becoming an every day feature in this site...it is getting boring and old

Answer 139

Do you still believe in Santa too?

Answer 140

Intellectual robbery is worse.

Answer 141

You are extremely smart, dare I say intelligent.....why the rhetoric?

Answer 142

Patent laws are kinda goofy, yet I can see an effective patent for 10 years, let the fellow that improved an invention make a little cash. I spent almost a year thinking of an original idea, or finding somebody that had an original idea, ever. The wheel comes to mind, but that was an occurence of nature, a tree falls and rolls dow a hill, wheel. I almost went crazy trying to find an absolute original Idea and had no luck in my endeavors, for everyone I thought I had found, was allways something before it.

So patents are just giving false rights to people for improveing on stuff that allready exists.

When a human can patent the Invention of Water, or Air or Fire or even a single atomic particle, that will be a day of days, untill then we just keep altering from stuff that exists.

So who deserves or actually has a Right to a patent? nobody.

Answer 143

Because the world only cares about one thing:$$$$$$$

Answer 144

because people would steal other people's IDEAS, that's why!!

Answer 145

I'm inventing my foot in your azz.

Answer 146

i so agree with you!! what ever happened to freedom of speach and the right to say or show whatever we chose?

Answer 147

Why would drug companies spend billions on inventing new drugs if they could then just be ripped off?

Answer 148

why are all of your questions featured questions?

Answer 149

my questions should be featured on this site

Answer 150

because then rich people would stop getting richer.

Answer 151

No one would make any MONEY!!!

Answer 152

i do not believe that is fully true.

Answer 153

then we would not be rewarded for our creativity.

Answer 154

very good idea. i wish it was possible.

Answer 155

this is a really stupid question.

Answer 156

That'd be just dumb.

Answer 157

THATS SIMPLE, ONE AND ONE REASON ONLY...

BECAUSE MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO 'ROUND. ALTHOUGH IF U WERE TO "DUMP" ALL PATENT LAWS & PEOPLE WOULD BE ABLE TO USE OLD IDEAS AND COMBINE THEM WITH NEW ONES TO OPTIMIZE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION THE GREED AND HUNGER FOR MORE MONEY OF HUMANITY OVERSHADOWS THE POSITIVITY OF ALL THE GREAT NEW IDEAS THAT WOULD SPAWN FROM THIS ACTION.

Answer 158

Damn good idea!

Answer 159

Sorry, no can do.

Answer 160

But then how would the rich get richer and the poor poorer?