Ownership is an age-old notion. We are comfortable with owning tangible things. But waters get muddied when it comes to owning thoughts – intellectual property. In a world where ideas can be shared instantly, protecting them is a challenge. It is one we must tackle urgently if Britain wants to continue developing and profiting from new technology.
In 2011, a record number of international patent applications were filed – 181,900, up 10.7 per cent on 2010. According to the statistics, we are living in an age of global invention. But it is a case of quantity over quality. Patents have become commodities to be traded.
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