Patents act as a tariff against imports. So, if the US abolished patents, imports of products using US inventions could compete on an equal footing (perhaps winning, because of cheaper labour costs; perhaps not). For example, Foxconn could manufacture iPhones and sell them itself.
What happens when the supply of existing patents runs out? i.e. consider it globally, not nationally. I can only guess that people wanting to develop inventions for commercialization would try to keep them secret - and people wishing to invest in commercializing inventions would prefer those that can be protected (by keeping them secret). This, apparently, was the situation before patents.
But this is Sweden (not the USA), which I hazard is a net-importer of patented products, so Sweden doesn't gain from patents. In fact, the Netherlands did abolish patents, and Switzerland delayed enacting them - and that was good for their economic development. I understand that they were compelled to, by powerful countries who did benefit from patents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societal_views_on_patents#Histo...
It seems logical to me that patents and copyright encourage investment in inventive and creative work, by enabling the value of the work to be captured. As a researcher, I also feel that the work of inventors and artists should be rewarded. But I agree the present system doesn't seem to be working very well.
What happens when the supply of existing patents runs out? i.e. consider it globally, not nationally. I can only guess that people wanting to develop inventions for commercialization would try to keep them secret - and people wishing to invest in commercializing inventions would prefer those that can be protected (by keeping them secret). This, apparently, was the situation before patents.
But this is Sweden (not the USA), which I hazard is a net-importer of patented products, so Sweden doesn't gain from patents. In fact, the Netherlands did abolish patents, and Switzerland delayed enacting them - and that was good for their economic development. I understand that they were compelled to, by powerful countries who did benefit from patents. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Societal_views_on_patents#Histo...
It seems logical to me that patents and copyright encourage investment in inventive and creative work, by enabling the value of the work to be captured. As a researcher, I also feel that the work of inventors and artists should be rewarded. But I agree the present system doesn't seem to be working very well.