Patents provide protection for the crown jewels of an innovative company. Without patent protection, larger competitors can simply wait until a new product begins to succeed, then copy it. Copying allows them to benefit from innovation without spending the sweat and money to actually invent anything new.
The United States Congress is presently considering the Patent Reform Act of 2007. This complex legislation is the culmination of five years of work by a group of large technology companies, Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Cisco chief among them.
Many backers of patent reform have "borrowed" ideas from other people. Some of the unwilling "lenders" hold patents and have sued. The Patent Reform Act will radically change the rules so companies can infringe on patents without getting hit with big court judgments.
I'll briefly summarize two of the "reforms" in this legislation:
One of the great moments for any inventor is when the U.S. Patent Office issues his or her patent. This event culminates years of work by the inventor. One objectionable provision of the Patent Reform Act would allow well-funded competitors to repeatedly challenge the validity of that patent in the Patent Office, even after it has been declared valid. Each challenge would require the inventor to hire attorneys to defend the patent or lose it.
This process, called post-grant opposition, is comparable to someone desiring to buy your house. If you don't want to sell or the would-be purchaser doesn't like the price you're asking, the buyer sues you, claiming you don't really own your home and asks to live in your house for nothing. After you paid your lawyer to prove that you really own your house twice, three times or 10 times, you might get a little mad.
The next problem is simpler to describe. This provision says that the first person to file a patent application owns the patent even if someone else created the invention first. If this proposal becomes law, you could work for years to develop the world's best mousetrap, then when your nosey neighbor wandered into your garage and saw it, he could file a patent application and own the patent on your mousetrap.
There are many other provisions in the Patent Reform Act, but the idea behind most is the same - radically weaken our patent protection to benefit a few influential patent infringers.
Our current patent law isn't perfect, but the U.S. patent system is widely recognized as the best in the world. Inventions protected by American patents generate far more revenue and profits and jobs than those of any other country. If we're going to change the patent system, we need to do it carefully and get it right.
We hear about global competitiveness every day. Innovation is our key advantage when we compete with others around the world. No one has discovered a way to outsource an inventive mind. If we want more and better inventions to improve our lives, we have to make sure inventors are rewarded for their work.
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* DAVID P. VANDAGRIFF is vice president for intellectual property of Helius, Inc., located in Lindon, Utah. Helius is a member of the Innovation Alliance, a coalition of entrepreneurial companies seeking to protect the integrity of the U.S. patent system.
