Transparency in patent law: more transparency for more innovation?

Intellectual property (IP) presents a special case in relation to transparency. It directly affects the distribution of, access to and creation of information. The application of private rights on information, the incentive to disclosure in patent law and the alternatives of trade secrets bring a special character to transparency investigations in the field of IP law.

We propose a theoretical analysis of the hypothesis that more transparency would create better conditions for innovation. Focusing on patent law, we seek to analyse the needs of transparency in this field, and look at how access to patent protected information has evolved over recent decades. What do the principles of transparency teach us with regard to the patent system, and what are the specifics of this notion as applied to patent law? These questions lead us to examine a variety of issues. To what extent do patent offices comply with their patentability conditions in a transparent manner? How does transparency require the disclosure of origin in biotech patents? How can more transparency lead to better patent quality? How do patent landscaping exercises encounter transparency issues and become able to create greater transparency? How has the Internet access to patent information changed the use of the patent system and affected the innovative climate?