Policy Committee Proposals on Patent Reach

This page is for the Policy Committee to collate proposals for and discussions about the official policy on patent reach. Please post your ideas in Board index > Party Policy Development > Policy Committee Activities > Patent reach .

Options (from least extensive to most for each area)
Patents on non-tangible 'inventions':
 * [A] No policy
 * [B] No policy yet, but look for evidence-based solutions / analyses
 * [C] Stop granting new patents once an alternative system is in place
 * [D] Abolish patents immediately
 * [W] No confidence in the vote (if you use this option, you must place it first)

Patents on pharmaceuticals:
 * [E] No policy
 * [F] No policy yet, but look for evidence-based solutions / analyses
 * [G] Stop granting new patents once an alternative system is in place
 * [H] Abolish patents immediately (requires 75% majority)
 * [W] No confidence in the vote (if you use this option, you must place it first)

Patents on life:
 * [I] No policy
 * [J] No policy yet, but look for evidence-based solutions / analyses
 * [K] Stop granting new patents once an alternative system is in place
 * [L] Abolish patents immediately
 * [W] No confidence in the vote (if you use this option, you must place it first)

Patents in all other areas:
 * [M] No policy
 * [N] No policy yet, but look for evidence-based solutions / analyses
 * [O] Stop granting new patents once an alternative system is in place
 * [P] Abolish patents immediately
 * [W] No confidence in the vote (if you use this option, you must place it first)

Option H (abolishing pharmaceutical patents immediately) requires a 75% majority because it goes beyond the policy of other pirate parties, so is not considered core policy.

Ideas from discussions
Pirate parties have raised concerns about patents in 3 areas in particular: Software (or intangible 'inventions' more broadly), pharmaceuticals, and biotech.

Software: Research suggests that patents on software do not promote innovation (ABA, 2007, p. 110; Bessen, 2011; Graham, 2009)*. There is therefore no apparent reason not to abolish such patents immediately.

Pharmaceuticals: Research suggests that patents on pharmaceuticals do promote innovation (ABA, 2007, p. 108; Cohen, 2000, p. 2; Graham, 2009; Levin, 1987, p. 824)*. It would therefore be necessary to set up an alternative system for promoting innovation if this is to continue, and [EDIT: until then] to continue to grant patents that we won't immediately abolish as soon as we've set up an alternative system (otherwise they won't be much of an incentive). The Pirate Party of Sweden has put some work into considering how an alternative system may operate, and this looks feasible.

Biotech: There is some evidence that patents on biotech may promote innovation (Graham, 2009)*, and pirate parties have not considered how an alternative system may operate.

Other areas: While patents in other areas might not significantly promote innovation, they do not appear to be a significant concern either.


 * References are on the wiki page Core_Policy.