Report

(B) International Patent Landscape
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3.14 Given the above context, the patent system of an economy
plays an important role in meeting its long term economic goals. Patent
registration is territorial. Most countries run their own patent offices to
determine the grant of patents and to maintain autonomy of their patent
systems.
3.15 Many industrialised countries have made use of patent
protection as a policy instrument to promote economic growth by
adopting an OGP system. This is the case for advanced economies such
as the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan. In general, an
effective patent system should essentially uphold patent quality, provide a
balanced dispute settlement mechanism, be user-friendly and facilitate
international cooperation in extending patent protection beyond the
domestic market. 18
3.16 At the other end of the spectrum, many least developed or
developing economies, for various economic, historical and other reasons,
accept a patent granted by a recognised industrial economy and
accordingly offer local patent protection. For example, the UK patent
may be “automatically” extended to a number of smaller economies, 19
subject to the completion of certain registration formalities. In general,
these economies have rather insignificant economic powers and
innovation may not be crucial at their stage of economic development.
18
19
See WIPO, “World Intellectual Property Report 2011 – The Changing Face of Innovation” (p.97).
Such small economies include, for example, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Fiji, Gibraltar, Grenada,
Guernsey, Guyana, Jersey, Kiribati, Montserrat, Nauru, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Samoa,
Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, and Tuvala. The UK Patent Office
website listed more economies in the same category
(www.ipo.gov.uk/pro-policy/policy-information/extendukip.htm). But research of this review
cannot verify the information for some (e.g. Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands,
Sierra Leone, Isle of Man, Pitcairn Islands, Tanzania and Vanuatu) and finds that some have
adopted an OGP system now (e.g. Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Cyprus, Gambia, Malta, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tonga and Uganda).