Ian Savell

UK

(ex) Intellectual Property Manager

Patents are supposed to promote innovation by encouraging inventors to publish and fairly license their ideas. while others build on them to advance knowledge.

In the fast-moving modern world patents are more often used by big business to restrict the activity of their newer, more agile competitors. Where small businesses do make ground breaking advances their efforts to secure patent protection are often blocked by their bigger competitors, or they are simply bullied into not enforcing their rights by threats of counter action.

The sooner politicians recognise that patents (and copyright) act against the development of a modern economy the better for all of us.