Protect the U.S. Patent System

This sounds alarmist, but it is true. I have known about this for quite a while (it was foisted upon us as part of GATT), but my opposition has been strengthened recently as I learn more and more about it.

I’ll be adding my own opinion pieces later, but for now, here are the critical links to the actual bills, and a few links to documentation on the subject.

The basic problem is that our current patent system protects patent submissions from public exposure until the patent is actually granted (and if the patent is not granted, no information on the application is ever published).

The proposed changes mandate that patent submissions be publicly printed after a fixed period of time (18 months; less than the typical time it takes for a patent to be granted; some patents can take 5–20 years to grant), even if the applicant doesn’t wish this to occur. This leaves technology created by our citizens, universities, and corporations vulnerable to theft from others in this nation, and by many countries abroad (whom some say are the real backers of the rule changes, and hope to steal our technology by changing the rules).

This is wrong, unfair, stupid, idiotic, and discriminatory against the small inventors who lack the funds and legal resources to fight abuses of their inventions.

There are other, even more serious issues involved, that are equally unfair to people trying to obtain patent protection. The patent term has been changed to 20 years from the date of filing, rather than the former 17 years from the date of issue. It should be changed back to insure that every patentee gets a minimum term of 17 years of a patent monopoly. Currently, if a patent takes 7 years to issue, the term of the monopoly is reduced to only 13 years

So perhaps you say “so if you don’t want your application to be disclosed, don’t file one”. But then the applicants are left in exactly the same hole—with no protection of their intellectual property. This is plain and simply theft, and it is wrong.

Information on the assault

21st Century Patent System Improvement Act

This was the bad bill in the US House of Representatives.

H.R. 811

This was the good bill in the US House of Representatives.