"Technological risk prevention and the protection of invention: a sustainable or unsustainable balance?"

Abstract

The sharing of information is one of the most effective mechanisms in the prevention of technological risks related to industrial accidents. It is considered that the information to be transmitted is of a complex nature and can be divided into four distinct phases: the first phase corresponds to a stage prior to the occurrence of a potential accident; the second phase corresponds to the transmission of information at the moment an accident occurs; the third phase relates to the information necessary to contain the effects of the accident; and the fourth phase corresponds to drawing conclusions for the drafting of future regulations.

However, not all information is freely accessible, being, in particular, protected by secrecy and industrial property rights. The protection afforded by these limits may, nevertheless, come into conflict with prevention objectives, especially when certain legal instruments establish the obligation to transmit information on hazardous substances and impose the adoption of the best available techniques. The protection of invention may hinder the achievement of prevention objectives and, therefore, it should be possible to balance them through compulsory mechanisms for the disclosure of information. These mechanisms may include the granting of compulsory licences or the expropriation of patents.