The Learning Needs of the Patent System: Implications from Institutionalism for Emerging Technologies Like Synthetic Biology

39 Pages Posted: 13 Jun 2013 Last revised: 14 Jun 2013

See all articles by Siva Thambisetty

Siva Thambisetty

London School of Economics and Political Science

Date Written: June 1, 2013

Abstract

This paper transposes dominant normative critiques with an institutionalist view of patent law by analysing how the multi-institutional setup of the patent system may determine the quality and coherence of change and decision-making. The institutional environment of the patent system makes it opaque, sticky and complex. These significant features are examined for the first time in this paper. Critical opportunities for statutorily determined decision-making are best described as learning needs, expressed through heuristics such as the person skilled in the art, inventive step determinations and prior art. These learning needs, set against the broader institutional environment, severely constrain current goals and limit future decision-making possibilities. In the case of an emerging technology such as synthetic biology, the management of learning needs is likely to lead to decisional outcomes marked by a desire for short-term gains in certainty and homogeneity, rather than substantive goals.

Keywords: Patent system, institutions, emerging technologies, synthetic biology, person skilled in the art, inventive step, prior art, emergence, learning needs

Suggested Citation

Thambisetty, Siva, The Learning Needs of the Patent System: Implications from Institutionalism for Emerging Technologies Like Synthetic Biology (June 1, 2013). LSE Legal Studies Working Paper No. 18/2013, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2272980 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2272980

Siva Thambisetty (Contact Author)

London School of Economics and Political Science ( email )

Houghton Street
London WC2A 2AE, WC2A 2AE
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/law/staff/sivaramjani-thambisetty.htm

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