FEBRUARY 2008
Why patent life expectancy matters
Peter Ollier looks at a range of statistics at the EPO, USPTO and JPO to see if patent renewal rates are decreasing and analyzes the implications
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In an interview with Managing IP in July, the president of the EPO, Alison Brimelow, said that the average length of time that a patent is maintained at the Office is falling. If fewer patent holders are prepared to pay the fees necessary to maintain a patent for the full 20 years this could indicate that patents are becoming less valuable to IP owners. The trend also has a big impact on patent offices, since maintenance fees – particularly the higher fees payable towards the end of a patent's life – are an important part of their revenue. Exact statistics in this field are hard to obtain, but the figures that are available suggest that the issue of patent life is an important one for policy makers to address. |
The patent system is the focus of much discussion. It is criticized by many as awarding companies an unfair monopoly that restricts competition, and praised by others as providing an essential incentive for innovation. Attempts to reform the system in the US, including recent efforts to introduce new legislation – now stuck in Congress – and a thwarted attempt by the USPTO to alter the rules for patent applicants, have proved highly controversial. Across the Atlantic, proposals by the European Commission to create a more unified patent system have, after years of negotiations, so far failed even to produce much of a blueprint for people to oppose.
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