Patent System in the Digital Era - Opportunities and New Challenges

The patent system is instrumental in contributing to firms’ innovation and nations’ economic growth. However, the system has been plagued by a series of persistent problems that prevent it from playing its full role. For example, the fundamental issue of who should be awarded the patent has not yet been resolved; the massive backlog of patent applications in patent offices worldwide has become a major headache for policymakers and innovating firms. In the paper, we propose and discuss a framework that digital technologies could offer promising solutions to these long-standing issues, thereby significantly improving the efficiency of the patent system. Meanwhile, we also present and discuss a few challenges faced by the patent system due to the cumulative nature and interconnectedness of digital technologies. Therefore, the digital era opens up new possibilities for the patent system but also brings about new challenges. This paper hopes to shed light on the discussion on the reform of the patent system in the digital era and point out a few possibly fruitful research directions in this area