Abstract
At the turn of the century we have seen a tightening of the patent system. However, policy makers systematically neglect the patent controversies. This article critically reviews the complex relationships between the rationales for patent rights on the one hand, and the social and economic effects of such on the other hand. Only when we understand this relationship, will we be able to design appropriate Intellectual Property Right (IPR) regimes for the new technoeconomic paradigm of knowledge-based micro-electronics and computer implemented pervasive inventions. Focus is on moral rationales, economic incentive rationales, increased competition and "market protection of entrepreneurial talent" rationales, and the economic rationales for organizing science, technology and creativity. It is argued that patent systems are not neutral, but set the rules of the game in which individuals and organizations are the players.References
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