GA Resolution: The General Patent Charter

[Ananke II]

This is the discussion thread. Please go here to cast your vote.

The General Patent Charter
A resolution to reduce barriers to free trade and commerce.

Category: Free Trade
Strength: Mild
Proposed by: Charlotte Ryberg


Description: SEEKING to establish international laws for:
• The mutual recognition of patents issued by member countries;
• The protection of the rights of patent holders within a member country;

The World Assembly,

DEFINES for the purpose of this resolution:
• Invention: a contrivance or construction of something which has not before existed, proven to be workable, useful and non-obvious;
• Patent law: any legislation that provides for issuing of Patents in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention; an official right allowing the Patent Holder to exclude unauthorised individuals or private entities from making or marketing an invention for a certain period of time, after which the invention enters the public domain;
• Patent Holder: a person, their assignee or an entity who holds the patent, regardless of whether they were the inventor or not;
• Public domain: patents that are not subject to protections of patent law or specific state ownership, making the invention freely available for use by anyone;
• Biological patenting: where research methods, specific sequences, chemical compositions or the process for creation of genetically engineered biological matter are patented;

1. MANDATES that national patent laws must grant the following rights to patent holders, whose patents are granted and filed at their patent office: to have their patents recognized in all member countries; and to exclude unauthorised persons or private entities from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention;

2. SPECIFIES that the minimum term of the patent shall be at least 20 years, subject to renewal eligibility and fees as determined by the issuing member country, and member countries that require a payment of a renewal fee to keep a patent, or patent application in force, must ensure that the renewal fee is fair and sensible, and that the interval for the payment of such renewal fee is a year or longer;

3. CALLS FOR national patent laws to grant active patent applications that have been filed but not yet granted a "Patent Pending" status, which shall provide no legal protection unlike a granted patent, but will provide for protection in case of intentional infringement later, if that patent application is granted;

4. SPECIFIES that where no action is taken to renew a patent, even if renewals are permitted, when the patent term expires, that patent will automatically enter the public domain;

5. RESTRICTS biological patenting to the methods for creation of genetically engineered biological matter only;

6. CREATES the Universal Patent Archive (UPA), a branch of the Universal Library Coalition, and invites member countries to submit their patents to the UPA; inclusion of date & time stamps will determine who patented what first, for posterity and preservation of knowledge.

7. REQUIRES member countries to provide for patent holders to seek damages from anyone who can be proven to have intentionally infringed their patent(s), but states that the existence of such patents in the UPA is not a valid argument for infringement;

8. ALLOWS patent holders to licence; mortgage; assign, transfer, or give away the patent; place the patent into the public domain; or allow the patent to expire.

ASSURES that nothing in this resolution will affect the right of member countries to accept/reject patent applications or allow/disallow patent renewals after expiration.

[Woonsocket]

I agree with this one. Now if only China would...

[Echolilia]

No way. My nation is socialist; there is no private industry. We will in general pay reasonable licensing fees to individuals, corporations, or governments outside of Echolilia for their inventions, but don't feel bound to do so if they are in our opinion unreasonable (or don't agree to license at all). On the flip side, inventions made in Echolilia are public for the world to use (unless kept secret for reasons of national security).

In short, this resolution mandates a capitalist mindset that isn't applicable to many WA nations.

On a more practical level, we feel this resolution will drive industry even from capitalist nations into neighboring non-WA nations, where it will not be subject to patent fees. Subsidiaries in WA nations will just buy finished products from subsidiaries in non-WA nations.

[evestigio]

Against .

"MANDATES that national patent laws must grant the following rights to patent holders, whose patents are granted and filed at their patent office: to have their patents recognized in all member countries; and to exclude unauthorised persons or private entities from making, using, selling, offering for sale, or importing the patented invention; "

Why should my nation recognize the patent in another nation? If I don't want to trade with a country for whatever reason i shouldn't have to acknowledge their patents on items if someone in my country creates something similar. Then they would be allowed to seek damages?

Just another way for other nations to interfere with each other imo, it needs to be revised.

[Anime Daisuki]

^Probably because inventions in one part of the world can get readily copied in another?

For example, a company in Singapore invented thumb-drive before 3M /Sandisk jumped onto it and reaped all the profits.

Or how about the story about a Chinese company claiming to have sold something similar to I-pad two freaking years before Apple "invented" it?

If intentional patents are respected, things like that wouldn't have happened and people will get what they rightly deserve.

[Echolilia]

"The General Patent Charter" was passed 4,435 votes to 1,701.

[Ananke II]

Final tally; 6 for, 3 against, 1 delegate's prerogative.

I cast my vote for.