Thomas Jefferson and Elon Musk, among the foremost thinkers in their respective eras, both believe that patents stifle progress.
If a bright mind comes up with a clever idea in his field, it seems obvious that the field will move further along (which should hopefully be the ultimate goal of inventing and ideating) if that idea is shared with colleagues than if it is protected by patent laws. If the original ideator is more concerned with becoming famous for his or her particular idea or making money off of it, there is probably less incentive to share, but that’s only because of the way the patent system is perceived.
Elon Musk points out that releasing all of Tesla’s patents may actually boost the company’s economic position, by attracting more smart people to the technology base. More importantly, Musk believes that sharing the patents will further the cause behind Tesla, the “why” of his company, which is to create a more sustainable future in cars. That ought to be every inventor’s primary motivation, to further a cause, and patents should support that. To promote human growth in technology and culture is one of the World Intellectual Property Organization’s (WIPO) stated aims, but it’s efficacy is uncertain.
Another matter, addressed by Thomas Jefferson, is the use of the term “property” in describing an idea. Jefferson insists that property, as we know it most commonly (house, belongings, land), is only truly “owned” when we are currently occupying or using it. Other times, it is only owned as a result of social construction (i.e. if you aren’t standing on a piece of land, there’s no physical law that says I can’t come stand on it and call it mine, just the social laws and norms we’ve built up over the years). So how does an idea fit in?
How ideas work physically was not well understood in Jefferson’s time, and it is understood only marginally better now, but Jefferson makes a nice point,
That ideas should freely spread from one to another over the globe, for the moral and mutual instruction of man, and improvement of his condition, seems to have been peculiarly and benevolently designed by nature…
He goes on to relate the spread of ideas to sharing a flame. If I have a candle, I can light 50 other candles without diminishing my flame at all. And if I have an idea, I can share it with the world (quite easily now, thanks to the Internet) without losing the integrity of the idea, myself. Then, not only do I have a shot at coming up with the next great idea, but anyone who understands my idea also has that opportunity, which undoubtedly gives us a better shot at progress.
Getting back to the WIPO, their stated purpose of patents, or more generally, the protection and promotion of intellectual property, is threefold:
- Humanity needs technological and cultural progress.
- Protection of IP encourages further investment in ideas.
- Protection and promotion also create economic growth.
Elon Musk, Thomas Jefferson, and I would argue that you don’t need patents to promote growth in culture, technology, and economy, and that the effect patents actually have, regardless of intention, is to encourage patent trolls, who can end up costing people more money than their patent is worth, and to inhibit other inventors and ideators from using novel ideas.
In short, patents stifle progress. They detract from the nobility of invention, and they suppress the free flow of information between colleagues.
“He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.” – Thomas Jefferson
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