Even before many of our rights were codified in the U.S. Constitution, the right of an inventor to own all rights to the creations of his own genius was constitutionally protected. The patent system crafted by our founding fathers has been so successful that it has enabled America to produce more inventions than all the rest of the world’s nations combined.
Unlike many countries, America’s patent system has guarded intellectual property by protecting the confidential contents of a patent application until a patent was granted, or by returning an application to the inventor with his secrets intact, so that he could make modifications and possibly resubmit an application.
Unfortunately, foreign interests, multinational corporations, and American “globalists” who believe that people, products, and information ought to be able to cross national borders unfettered are attempting to “harmonize” America’s patent system with systems that exist elsewhere in the world. Based upon globalist ideology, a “Patent Reform Act” has already been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and is under consideration in the Senate.
For the sake of “harmonizing” the American patent system with systems of foreign nations, foreign interests and multinational corporations are aggressively pressuring Congress to make these changes. After all, they are aware that the so called “reforms” would give them access to the research and development done by small inventors and businesses that account for 40% of America’s innovation, and would free them from having to pay for their inventions.
The proposal would change the rules for filing patents and would give property rights to the “first to file” rather than the first to invent. Obviously, large foreign interests are far better positioned than are most of our own small businesses and individual inventors to hire teams of powerful lobbyists and lawyers in Washington, D.C. to help them gain rights to an American invention they didn’t devise, simply by rushing to submit paperwork before it is submitted by the actual American inventor.
The proposal would require the U.S. Patent Office to open its files and publish all inventions 18 months after the date of application, even though the current application process for an American inventor takes much longer to successfully complete. This would mean that before American ideas and inventions are protected with a patent, confidential information would be published so that any country can pirate American ideas and inventions and put them into production.
The Patent Reform Act would also limit damages that can be awarded for patent infringement and outright theft. Again, the small American company or individual would be at a severe disadvantage in attempting to win just compensation from an unscrupulous multinational corporation or foreign nation.
Finally, the proposal would hurt our most creative and productive citizens while it would help those who pay no taxes in the United States and who have no loyalty whatsoever to our country. It would also reward and assist those countries that already are pirating the intellectual property of American citizens, manufacturing products based on ideas they have stolen from us, and selling those products back to us.
The American government should be working in the best interests of America’s small businesses that create new jobs and account for most of our productivity rather than penalizing them with the Patent Reform Act. If America’s inventors are not protected from foreign nations and multinational corporations, America will lose the foundation for its prosperity with innovation moving overseas just as manufacturing has done.
Because of the rapid changes that have come with the digital age, there indeed might be some updating and improvements needed to our patent system. But given that America still leads the world in technology and innovation, it seems odd that our lawmakers would feel the need to throw out our patent system and pattern it instead on the systems of far less creative countries. Perhaps we should remind our Senators of an old adage: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” To do that would be patently wrong.
Unlike many countries, America’s patent system has guarded intellectual property by protecting the confidential contents of a patent application until a patent was granted, or by returning an application to the inventor with his secrets intact, so that he could make modifications and possibly resubmit an application.
Unfortunately, foreign interests, multinational corporations, and American “globalists” who believe that people, products, and information ought to be able to cross national borders unfettered are attempting to “harmonize” America’s patent system with systems that exist elsewhere in the world. Based upon globalist ideology, a “Patent Reform Act” has already been passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and is under consideration in the Senate.
For the sake of “harmonizing” the American patent system with systems of foreign nations, foreign interests and multinational corporations are aggressively pressuring Congress to make these changes. After all, they are aware that the so called “reforms” would give them access to the research and development done by small inventors and businesses that account for 40% of America’s innovation, and would free them from having to pay for their inventions.
The proposal would change the rules for filing patents and would give property rights to the “first to file” rather than the first to invent. Obviously, large foreign interests are far better positioned than are most of our own small businesses and individual inventors to hire teams of powerful lobbyists and lawyers in Washington, D.C. to help them gain rights to an American invention they didn’t devise, simply by rushing to submit paperwork before it is submitted by the actual American inventor.
The proposal would require the U.S. Patent Office to open its files and publish all inventions 18 months after the date of application, even though the current application process for an American inventor takes much longer to successfully complete. This would mean that before American ideas and inventions are protected with a patent, confidential information would be published so that any country can pirate American ideas and inventions and put them into production.
The Patent Reform Act would also limit damages that can be awarded for patent infringement and outright theft. Again, the small American company or individual would be at a severe disadvantage in attempting to win just compensation from an unscrupulous multinational corporation or foreign nation.
Finally, the proposal would hurt our most creative and productive citizens while it would help those who pay no taxes in the United States and who have no loyalty whatsoever to our country. It would also reward and assist those countries that already are pirating the intellectual property of American citizens, manufacturing products based on ideas they have stolen from us, and selling those products back to us.
The American government should be working in the best interests of America’s small businesses that create new jobs and account for most of our productivity rather than penalizing them with the Patent Reform Act. If America’s inventors are not protected from foreign nations and multinational corporations, America will lose the foundation for its prosperity with innovation moving overseas just as manufacturing has done.
Because of the rapid changes that have come with the digital age, there indeed might be some updating and improvements needed to our patent system. But given that America still leads the world in technology and innovation, it seems odd that our lawmakers would feel the need to throw out our patent system and pattern it instead on the systems of far less creative countries. Perhaps we should remind our Senators of an old adage: “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.” To do that would be patently wrong.
3 comments:
I agree that the "Patent Reform Act" is bad legislation. Any "reform" that diminishes incentives for innovation is a bad idea. Take for example, the pharmaceutical industry. What would be their incentive to invest billions of dollars into new life saving drugs only to have their patent taken way and lose any potential profit that they might make? The answer is simple, there would be no incentive.
The so called Patent Reform Act is wrongheaded and un-American. I'm sure Senator Demint will fight it, but Graham will no doubt support it. All South Carolinians should be rightfully proud that Jim Demint represents us in Washington. He is truly a Senator possessed of America's mainstream values. And he's pro-military. Keep talking the truth.
agree its important to protect our copyright and patent laws, that protects the genius of America
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