Fabricating Invention: The Patent Malfunction of Australian Patent Law

Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2013

15 Pages Posted: 23 Nov 2014

See all articles by Hazel V. J. Moir

Hazel V. J. Moir

Australian National University (ANU) - Centre for European Studies, Research School of Social Sciences

Date Written: November 7, 2013

Abstract

Despite advice to parliament that patents are granted only for "a significant advance over what was known and what was available to the public" the evidence shows this is not the standard used. The actual standard is a scintilla – a marginal difference from what is known. The consequence of such a low standard is that thousands of patents are granted for things that contribute no public benefit. Such trivial patents can impede genuinely inventive companies.

Keywords: invention, patents, innovation policy

JEL Classification: O31, O34, O56

Suggested Citation

Moir, Hazel V. J., Fabricating Invention: The Patent Malfunction of Australian Patent Law (November 7, 2013). Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Vol. 20, No. 2, 2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2529295

Hazel V. J. Moir (Contact Author)

Australian National University (ANU) - Centre for European Studies, Research School of Social Sciences ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

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