Culture and Society
PUBLISHED
Recently, SKF, a Swedish-founded engineering company, launched a new platform where companies can share patents for free. The platform, known as The Patent Bay, is designed to help accelerate the development of more sustainable technologies at a time when we desperately need new ways to achieve sustainability and combat climate change.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.The types of patents being uploaded to the platform vary in the types of industries they benefit. For instance, one patent on The Patent Bay offers a new bearing alloy that will help the airline industry cut emissions, while another provides a method to help medical professionals determine a patient’s risk score. Although they’re contributing to two different industries, these examples both help overcome friction in their own ways.
Sharing ideas for the future
Throughout modern history, society has benefited from innovations that were made available for free. For instance, the designs for the World Wide Web – the global information system that makes up the Internet – were shared for free. So too were the original designs for the three-point seatbelt, invented by Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin while working for Volvo during the late 1950s.
Then there’s the discovery of penicillin and the procedure for creating it. This lifesaving antibiotic transformed the medical world, offering a way to cure many diseases that killed thousands of people every year. When they discovered it, neither Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey, nor Ernst Chain patented the substance. Instead, they chose to share the methods for its production as they recognized its significance for humanity.
Can you imagine what the world would look like today if any of these discoveries or inventions had been held behind corporate protectionism?
This is why SKF decided to launch The Patent Bay. As part of their ongoing effort to “fight friction” – both literally, in terms of engineering challenges, as well as figuratively, to overcome delays that may slow down progress – they understand that innovation is essential for developing a sustainable future. As their CEO, Rickard Gustafson stated, “History shows that real breakthroughs happen when we share.”
“The Patent Bay is our way of unlocking that potential – creating ripple effects across industries and society.”
The platform arrives at an important time, as global patent filings are higher than they’ve ever been. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, 3.55 million patent applications were filed in 2023, a figure that is double that of 1995.
The first patents
When SKF launched The Patent Bay, they uploaded their design for a new high-performance bearing alloy that can manage higher loads while being more compact. The innovation can be used in the architecture of new engines designed to reduce emissions by up to 25 percent.
Soon after this, Mölnlycke Health Care, a world-leading MedTech company, uploaded their design for a new method for determining a patient’s risk scores.
“Mölnlycke® is sharing a patent relating to a structured method to determine a patient’s risk score,” Brian Andrews, Global Marketing Manager, Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, Mölnlycke Health Care, told IFLScience.
“The innovation combines data from a pre-assessment of the patient with patterns drawn from broad, anonymised groups of patients. By comparing a patient’s health profile to large-scale models, the patented method can potentially help to predict risks, improve treatment accuracy and lower healthcare costs.”
The method is designed to supplement clinical expertise with an “evidence-based framework to inform decision-making,” Andrews explained. It uses patient data to enhance existing triage and evaluation processes used in healthcare settings. This, Mölnlycke hopes, will help caregivers identify risks earlier and to tailor care for patients more efficiently.
“Through The Patent Bay, Mölnlycke is making this valuable tool freely accessible to innovators, researchers and healthcare providers worldwide, with the ultimate aim to improve patient outcomes,” Andrews added.
The company ultimately decided to share the method through The Patent Bay because they believed in the initiative’s overall purpose: to accelerate “sustainability-focused technology”.
“With the goal of realising the best possible clinical and economic outcomes, our hope is that innovations like this will evolve, improve and accelerate most efficiently through an open architecture approach,” Andrews said.
“Moreover, by donating this patent, we want to contribute to a more open innovation environment where ideas can be developed to help shape more sustainable healthcare systems.”
You can learn more about The Patent Bay here.
This article is an advert and includes sponsored material. Read our transparency policy for more information.
1
