Issue Adaptive Patent

Summary

Adaptive Patent asks what would happen if patents could adapt. An adaptive intellectual property system would ensure fair access to essential technologies, steer innovation towards social impact and improve transparency in support of sustainable development. Just under a decade ago nearly 97% of patents never recovered their filing costs, half expired early for unpaid fees and fewer than 20% of university technology transfer offices broke even. Patents are static by default, freezing a solution and granting exclusive control for up to 20 years. That can block incremental innovation and essential use where need is greatest, for example in climate and health, and while adaptive patents promise faster innovation and fairer sharing of benefits, they add complexity, cyber vulnerability and hard questions of fairness for established industries.