Formula for Patent System (Score 1)

i = number of patents granted per year (estimate for next year) c = cost of running patent office f = small fee n = number of years a patent has been in effect All patents applied for would need to submit a cost of research and development. This cost would be auditable and failing an audit of research costs would also fail to get a patent. All patents would need to be renewed on a yearly basis. In addition, all patents would pay a yearly fee for the privilage of having a monopoly. This fee would be caluculated with the following formula: Fee = (f+c/i) * 2^n Such a patent fee structure would allow the patent office to run without any additional tax inputs. Further, the fact that the fee by definition excedes the cost of running the patent office would result in a surplus of funds for the patent office. These surplus funds would be spent each year by the patent office to "buy" patents into the public domain by paying back the research and development cost. The patent office could buy back lot's of small cost patents or a couple of big cost patents. The exponentially rising nature of the fee would serve to be a limiting factor in the continuation of buying a patent. Truly profitable patents would be paid for for as long as the monopoly was profitable and then when the fee wasn't paid they would become public domain. patents that aren't immidiatly profitable wouldn't likely be paid for by corporations, or if they were they wouldn't be paid for for long.