Social Costs of the Patent System/LE COÛT SOCIAL DU SYSTÈME DE PATENTE

Abstract: The patent system is making progress and incorporating international practice at a tremendous pace in China. However, scholars have been raising doubts to the benefits of the patent system. They believe that the social costs borne by the developing countries for the patent system exceed the overall economic gains in the current international circumstances. China's current patent system indicates that there is a lack of sufficient understanding of the social costs and of the cost-benefit analysis of the patent system, which causes many controversies. Nowadays the related study is still struggling to quantify the social cost, while the qualitative analysis is highly disputed. However, an anatomy of the social costs is necessary to take specific cost control measures for the purpose of establishing an economically more efficient patent system suitable under China's current circumstances. Key words: Patent, Social Costs, Patent System Resume: Pas a pas, la construction sur le systeme de patente en Chine est bien developpe avec les coutumes internationals, relativement, les savants sont suspicieux sur l'efficacite de ce systeme parce qu'il a desequilibre le cout social des pays en developpements avec le profit economie du monde entier, les pays en developpements sont bien inquiets. Le systeme de patente chinois a un grand defaut dont l'analyse sur le cout-1'efficacite n'est pas suffisante, et il provoque pas mal de contestation. Maintenat, l'analyse sur le cout social du systeme de patente n'a pas encore fait une conclusion precise, mais il est necessaire de bien analyzer de divers couts sociaux quand on forge le systeme de patente, afin qu'on puisse fonder un systeme qui peut bien controler le cout et peut bien adaptable a la situation du pays. Mots-Cles: La patente, le systeme de patente, le cout social 1. INTRODUCTION The most direct motive behind the patent system is to justify the lack in R&D investment, but the system is not perfect. It may induce corporate to over-invest and foster the desire to pursue monopoly via technological edge. It is impractical to try to achieve optimal input-output equilibrium of the patent system in uncertain areas like R&D. We must look at the social costs of the patent system in a more practical way. Since we do not have specific data related to the social costs analysis of the patent system, this article is based on empirical analysis. 2. OPERATIONAL COSTS OF THE PATENT SYSTEM The operational costs of the patent system comprise of the administration costs of the patent authorities and patent holders, and is the price for keeping the system functioning. 2.1 Costs of Granting a Patent It requires a sophisticated approval process to grant a patent. It is not necessary to mention that, from submitting an application to examining and approving the grant of a patent, the patent authorities and the applicant need to spend tremendous human and physical resources. Moreover, additional costs are inevitable during the course of examination of patents. One key criteria of patent examination is creativity, but even the most authoritative examination institutions finds it difficult to avoid disputes in this regard. The European Patent Office has internationally advanced search and examination systems. However, in Germany only, over half of the invalidation requests against patents granted by the Europe Patent Office were upheld, and the most common reason is lack in creativity.2 Inappropriate decision to grant or deny a patent will have negative impact on the public welfare. A patent office has considerable discretion in determining the scope of a patent request letter and thus the protection scope of a patent. The uncertainty in the protection scope of a patent will affect further research and development work and therefore hinder the technological development. 2.2 Costs of Using the Patent System 2. …

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