View article

NE fundamental premise of patent law, according to the courts, is that the system is a quid pro quo between the state and the inventor; in exchange for disclosing his invention in the patent itself, the inventor is granted the right to exclude others from practicing the invention for a limited time.'Disclosure, therefore, is central to the patent system. 2 The courts have reasoned that the disclosure requirements in US patent law are designed to further innovation by enhancing the store of knowledge available to the public. 3 Other innovators can rely on disclosures in patents and build upon that information. 4 In this way, patents serve a teaching function, informing the public about the invention.

The courts take the benefit of disclosure as a given in the quid pro quo view of patents. 5 Such an assumption may not be warranted. Evaluation of the patent system suggests that the ability of patents to perform this" teaching" function …