| | |
|
TheodoreSmith-FirstPaper 13 - 15 Nov 2008 - Main.EbenMoglen
|
| |
| META TOPICPARENT | name="WebHome" |
|---|
| |
<
< | | | | Placing Molecular Compounds in the Public Domain
-- By TheodoreSmith - 18 Oct 2008 | | | Once the manual construction of any sufficiently described molecule becomes technically feasible, enablement is almost certain to become trivial to a person skilled in the technical art. Computer programs that permute and diagram extant molecular structures are scientific reality; an algorithm capable of generating build routines would likely be even simpler to develop. | |
<
< | Trivial enablement, by itself, is no block to patentability. Many simple mechanical devices are trivial to enable. Molecular structures, however, have the additional property of having a form consisting of a collection of discrete and finite components. The structure of simple molecule, such as H2O? , can be described in detail simply by extrapolating from the basis of its chemical formula. More complex chemical forms have many more possible structural arrangements, and are more difficult to describe; however, techniques for permuting the possible structures of these complex molecules have been developing in the prior art for some time. | >
> | Trivial enablement, by itself, is no block to patentability. Many simple mechanical devices are trivial to enable. Molecular structures, however, have the additional property of having a form consisting of a collection of discrete and finite components. The structure of simple molecule, such as H2O, can be described in detail simply by extrapolating from the basis of its chemical formula. More complex chemical forms have many more possible structural arrangements, and are more difficult to describe; however, techniques for permuting the possible structures of these complex molecules have been developing in the prior art for some time. | | | The combination of trivial enablement and a finite structure would place chemical compounds within a unique class respective to patent law. A full description and build routine of a novel compound could be generated from a small amount of descriptive data, in some cases as little as a name. | | | Conclusion
Although a precise legal and technical investigation remains outside the scope of this paper, it is important to note that this analysis rests not on the details of the implementation or technologies used, but on the fundamental characteristics of molecular compounds, the internet, and patent law. Similarly, it should be recognized that this change is not manifestly positive or negative. Although an economic or moral analysis of the shift may be useful in providing context, such judgments have no effect on the inevitability of the change; the cost efficiencies of internet publication and cheap computational power all but guarantee the eventual outcome. | |
>
> |
I think this is a superb example of thinking realistically over the horizon. It would not have been sensible in 1,000 words--while introducing concepts abtruse for many (which in my view you do with clarity and economy)--to have imagined the possible legislative responses likely from an industry with so much to lose from loss of patentability. But further meditation on that line might be fruitful.
-- EbenMoglen - 15 Nov 2008 | | | \ No newline at end of file |
|
|
|
|
This site is powered by the TWiki collaboration platform.
All material on this collaboration platform is the property of the contributing authors.
All material marked as authored by Eben Moglen is available under the license terms CC-BY-SA version 4.
|
|
| | |