25th April 2007

EUROPEAN PATENT OFFICE IMAGINES INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CIRCA 2025

Discuss this itemShare your views with other visitors, and read what they have to say

The European Patent Office (EPO) has published a report surveying the intellectual property landscape as it might look in 2025.

The study, entitled “Scenarios for the Future,” considers the effects of four different ‘drivers’ for change: business, geopolitics, society, and technology. It was launched at the European Patent Forum, held from 18-19 April in Munich.

Some of the issues that shape the scenarios include patent harmonisation, the growing influence of developing countries and regions, the democratisation of the knowledge economy, and global efforts to address climate change.

At the core of the report is the increased complexity and importance of knowledge creation, requiring choices about “how best to adapt to the fundamental changes in the way in which knowledge is being produced and used.” It does not attempt to arrive at particular conclusions or make policy recommendations, but rather it seeks to raise questions about the kind of factors that will determine future policy choices. Crucially, it draws attention to the question of the legitimacy of the IP system as it evolves to meet global trends and challenges.

Indeed, a source who attended the launch told Bridges that business delegates raised the issues of patent quality and the wider credibility of IP as being of prime concern to their future use of the patent system. They also discussed new, collaborative approaches to innovation that are causing SMEs and even larger businesses to rethink their IP strategy, such as IBM’s interest in open research models. Another questioned examined was the need to ensure that IP still serves its purpose in supporting innovation, since the rate of technological change is racing ahead of the patent process so much that “business has moved on but IP has not caught up yet,” the source said.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a keynote address at the launch, in which she said promoting innovation and patent protection were essential to the EU economy. She also renewed calls for a European Community patent. Currently, the EPO grants patents for up to 37 European countries, but litigation is carried out by national patent offices. This raises costs, not least for translation. A Community patent would standardise European patenting criteria, but talks have stalled over the official languages chosen to reduce translation costs.

The EPO’s report has been two years in the making, comprising of over 100 interviews.

More information about the Scenarios project is available at http://www.epo.org/focus/patent-system/scenarios-for-the-future.html

ICTSD reporting.