The solution comes in several parts. Some are already partially formed and some are in abeyance through lack of someone to gather them into one body and push them forward. There are numerous government departments and NGOs that can, while doing their own duty, discourage and disincentives people: swamping them with paperwork and rules before they even get started. What is needed is a single office with oversight of all the different parts of government in respect to small start-ups: tax, vat, registration, compliance with health and safety, etc.. This would be useful but it is not innovative enough. The challenge is to set up government-backed agency, overseen by professional managers and staffed by highly competent researchers to trawl the archives of the patent office and ascertain if any lapsed patents can be salvaged for today’s businesses. Also, there are many patents that are being underused because no one, apart from a very few, know that they exist. Whereas Cherubim protect the gates of the Garden of Eden, Civil Servants guard the gates of the Patent Office wherein the modern day Fruit from the Tree of Knowledge reside. My idea is to throw open the gates and disseminate the fruit for the benefit of one and all. The management agency could search for patents that could be used by start-ups to advance there progress. Sets of patents could be grouped together, allowing entrepreneurs, tasked with developing them via innovation and technology, to turn them into government backed businesses. The management could be parachuted in for a limited time to smooth the progress of the start-up and watch for stumbling blocks. What is needed is a Wicki style search engine. With open data and human ingenuity there is no telling what bold enterprises may emerge. Patents that are still current could benefit from increased exposure while expired patents could be taken into government control and licensed to any users at a fair cost. To further public interest and enthusiasm for creative invention and innovation – and to give the populace a goal and talking point – the government could start an initiative to encourage start-ups with a nationwide competition along the lines of ‘How would you capitalise on these inventions.’ It would be a bold move that would cut the bureaucracy and red tape while boosting the domestic product and unit the nation for the public good. Also, every business that succeeds will eventually employ others and pay tax into the government coffers.
811-11