DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17053440
title: A Framework for Patent-Free Science

description:  

A Framework for Patent-Free Science

 

Subtitle: Legal Analysis, Strategic Implementation, and the Path to the Human Global Science Collective

Draft Date: September 2025

Status: Public Draft for Review & Endorsement

 

Executive Summary

 

This white paper proposes a decisive shift: replacing the outdated system of patents in science with an open, legally sound, and technically enforceable framework. Patents once served to establish priority, grant permission, and provide protection. Today, these functions can be fulfilled—and surpassed—through open publication pipelines, cryptographic proofs, patent-aware licensing, and collective defense networks.

The outcome is a commons where innovation is accelerated, reproducibility is enforced, and monopolies are rendered irrelevant. This framework is not hypothetical: it is grounded in existing legal doctrines (prior art, enabling disclosure), proven licenses (Apache 2.0, CERN-OHL, CC-BY/CC0), and modern infrastructure (blockchain timestamps, open repositories, reproducible Repro Packs).

Beyond its immediate impact, this framework sets the stage for the Human Global Science Collective (HGSC): a worldwide alliance of scientists and institutions committed to open, patent-free science as the default operating system of discovery.

 

1. Defensive Publication as Default

 

Legal Foundation





Prior Art: Any publicly available disclosure invalidates novelty claims for future patents.




Enablement: Disclosures must allow a skilled person to reproduce the work.




Global Scope: A DOI-indexed repository entry or timestamped proof qualifies worldwide.



Technical Stack





Priority: Immutable blockchain timestamp (e.g., OpenTimestamps) + Proof Vault hash.




Discoverability: DOI-granting mirrors on Zenodo, OSF, and arXiv.




Enablement: A Repro Pack—paper + data + code + environment container + minimal test.



This ensures disclosures are not just prior art, but the best art: reproducible, citable, and globally accessible.

 

2. Codifying Permission Through Open Licensing

 





Software: Apache 2.0, providing explicit patent grants and defensive termination.




Hardware: CERN-OHL v2 (permissive, weak copyleft, or strong copyleft variants).




Data & Publications: CC-BY or CC0 layered with the Open Science Non-Assert (OSNA) pledge.



Licenses define the social contract: they permit reuse, deter aggression, and protect openness.

 

3. Collective Defense Mechanisms

 





OSNA Pledge: A unilateral covenant not to assert patents for research, clinical, educational, or humanitarian uses.




Patent-Free Science Alliance: An OIN-style cross-license pool where members grant RF licenses within covered fields.




Defensive Patent License (DPL): High-commitment, all-in patent copyleft to create an ironclad commons.




RF Standards: Participation in standards bodies under royalty-free patent policies.



Together these mechanisms form a multi-layered shield, deterring trolls and aligning participants in a zone of non-aggression.

 

4. Realigning Incentives Beyond Monopoly

 





Certification: A “Patent-Free Science Certified” badge linked to reproducibility scores.




Prizes: Goal-specific open science prizes (e.g., reproducibility challenge, humanitarian impact).




Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs): Market guarantees tied to open, reproducible deliverables.




Procurement Preferences: Encourage governments, universities, and hospitals to prefer open, pledged science.



These incentives reward execution, reproducibility, and social value—not exclusivity.

 

5. Implementation Roadmap (90 Days)

 





Weeks 0–2 (Foundations): Adopt default licenses, publish OSNA pledge, launch CPR v0.




Weeks 2–6 (Publications): One-click defensive publication pipeline, bulk ingest of back catalog.




Weeks 6–12 (Alliance): Recruit 5–7 anchor members, ratify covered fields, launch first RF standards tracks.



 

6. Strategic Recommendations

 





Formally adopt Apache 2.0, CERN-OHL, CC-BY/CC0 + OSNA as defaults.




Launch the Collective Public Registry (CPR) as the definitive archive of prior art.




Recruit anchor members to seed the Patent-Free Science Alliance.




Establish governance for covered fields and alliance norms.




Begin Phase II: the formation of the Human Global Science Collective (HGSC).



 

Call to Action: The Founding Cohort

 

We call upon five scientists from across disciplines, alongside the initiator of this framework, to form the Founding Cohort of the Human Global Science Collective (HGSC). The task is urgent: within 90 days, we can prove that science no longer requires patents to thrive.

This Founding Cohort will:





Ratify and publish the OSNA pledge.




Seed the CPR with their work.




Draft the initial governance charter of HGSC.




Establish patent-free science as the global norm.



Science must be protected for science’s sake. With six voices—the founder and five peers—we can redraw the boundary between private monopoly and public knowledge.

 

Conclusion

 

Patents are not the engine of science—they are friction. By combining defensive publication, open licenses, collective defense, and realigned incentives, we can accelerate discovery while preserving freedom to operate.

This framework offers not just protection from monopolies but a new direction: the Human Global Science Collective. We invite five scientists to join immediately in founding this future.

The time is now.