Article in Guardian by Sulston criticized

Further to an earlier IPBiz report, the blog IPKat reports criticism of a report by John Sulston, Sarah Chan and Professor John Harris published in the Guardian. [see Manchester misleads on patents ]

The Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys [CIPA] noted: “Contrary to what is stated in the report, ... IP rights do not ‘have the tendency to stifle access to knowledge and the free exchange of ideas that is essential to science’. Publication and knowledge-sharing is at the heart of the IP system. Not only is there a vast amount of scientific and technical information available from patent databases around the world, but the majority of it is not available from any other source.”

See also LBE's article in 8 JMRIPL 80 (2008). Once again, the academics don't have a clue.

Previous posts on IPBiz:


Justice Sotomayor in Bilski


Nobel prize-winner Sir John Sulston calls for patent reform