Improving Patent Information Quality: Development and the Disclosure Requirements

The paper is based on the premise that disclosure of patent information is essential for development. Thus, the question posed is related to the extent to which substantive disclosure rules can secure the release of quality patent information that can be easily retrieved and utilized for development. To this end, the paper has made the argument that clear and complete disclosure might not be necessarily adequate to secure disclosure of quality patent information so that access and exploitation of this technical knowledge is less than optimal in developing countries. Apart from that, the research has suggested that improving patent information quality in itself might not be sufficient enough to secure access to this technical knowledge. Because availability of information does not always mean that it is accessible, the paper has analysed impediments to the accessibility of patent information showing that in practical terms, accessibility to technical knowledge might be quite poor.