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Christian Bessy (2019)HAL Id: halshs-01872163Abstract.  Today, the patent system is facing a paradox. It has never been so successful, yet at the same  time it has attracted severe criticism, such as the call to return to the "commons". This article  argues that the success of the patent at the 'macro' level is linked to the proliferation of the  ways it is used at the ‘micro’ level: as a tool for the protection and diffusion of innovations, as  an instrument of market power and technological valorisation, as a signal and instrument of  negotiation, as a valuable corporate asset. These uses would somehow be superimposed since  the genesis of the patent system, without cancelling the previous ones. This article proposes  an analysis of the contemporary evolution of this legal institution by distinguishing different  conventions for patent use as well as legal intermediaries which contribute to their definition,  diffusion, and transformation, in particular patent attorneys. Although this explanatory outline  draws mainly on the case of France, it can be extended to other countries.  Keywords JEL: O31 – Innovation and invention: processes and incentives, O34 – Intellectual property rights, L15- Information and product quality, K49 – Legal procedureLink to HAL