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They said the government now owns the patent your responding like they said the patent is now voided and the technology is open to anyone.
by tick_tock_tick 4y ago
They said the government now owns the patent your responding like they said the patent is now voided and the technology is open to anyone.
- heavyset_go 4y agoDo you think the government is going to sit atop of a giant pile of patents like a fire-breathing dragon protecting its hoard? That's what private companies currently do, and by relinquishing them to the government, the public has some say in what happens to them.
- tracker1 4y agoMore likely they auction it off to the highest bidder.
- heavyset_go 4y agoNIH regularly licenses patents, so that doesn't have to be the case.
- tick_tock_tick 4y agoProbably not but who they chose to license it too might not be in the patients best interest.
- heavyset_go 4y agoI agree, but I think it's better than the alternative of it remaining with some patent troll to never be used in a productive way. If it remains in private hands, we don't get a say in what happens to it. If the government owns it, there's at least a chance that democratic processes can affect what happens to it and standards can be enforced that licensees must meet or adhere to. There are plenty of NIH patents that are licensed, and while some of the companies they're licensed to make my skin crawl, they're at least being used productively, and not locked away to be used as a cudgel in a legal racket.
- concordDance 4y ago> Do you think the government is going to sit atop of a giant pile of patents like a fire-breathing dragon protecting its hoard? Very likely unless some distribution or maintenance mechanism gets funded.
- heavyset_go 4y agoIt already exists: https://www.techtransfer.nih.gov/ https://www.techtransfer.nih.gov/