It is impossible to record all of them fully in a document this size, but they are summarised at Annex C . The Government is very grateful to all respondents, and to all those who contributed to the consultation in other ways. It has a stronger basis for reaching conclusions as a result. The rest of this document sets out these conclusions. The Role of Patents 6.
Patents are a long-established means of encouraging innovation.
A patent confers on its holder a legal monopoly, for a limited period, in commercial exploitation of the patented invention. In return for the monopoly the inventor must disclose his invention so that others may utilise his knowledge. Patents evolved in manufacturing industry, to provide an incentive to innovate which would otherwise be weakened by the risk that inventions which are expensive to develop would prove to be capable of being copied by rivals, who would not have borne the development costs. The prospect of a temporary monopoly restores the incentive to make investment and take risks in inventing and developing new technical products and solutions, for the ultimate benefit of consumers. But patents also entail disadvantages.