criticism of patents criticism of patents legal scholars, economists, activists, policymakers, industries, and trade organizations have held differing views on patents and engaged in contentious debates on the subject. critical perspectives emerged in the nineteenth century that were especially based on the principles of free trade.: 262–263 contemporary criticisms have echoed those arguments, claiming that patents block innovation and waste resources that could otherwise be used productively, and also block access to an increasingly important "commons" of enabling technologies (a phenomenon called the tragedy of the anticommons), apply a "one size fits all" model to industries with differing needs, that is especially unproductive for industries other than chemicals and pharmaceuticals and especially unproductive for the software industry. enforcement by patent trolls of poor quality patents has led to criticism of the patent office as well as the system itself. patents on pharmaceuticals have also been a particular focus of criticism, as the high prices they enable puts life-saving drugs out of reach of many people. alternatives to patents have been proposed, such joseph stiglitz's suggestion of providing "prize money" (from a "prize fund" sponsored by the government) as a substitute for the lost profits associated with abstaining from the monopoly given by a patent. patent law overviews patent patent claim history economics criticism procedural concepts application prosecution opposition valuation licensing infringement patentability requirements and related concepts patentable subject matter inventorship novelty inventive step and non-obviousness industrial applicability utility person skilled in the art prior art other legal requirements sufficiency of disclosure unity of invention by region / country patent cooperation treaty (pct) australia canada china europe germany japan netherlands united states by specific subject matter biological business method chemical insurance software tax