Obama signs 1st major patent law change since 1952

Obama signs 1st major patent law change since 1952

news.yahoo.com

ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — President Barack Obama signed into law Friday a major overhaul of the nation's patent system to ease the way for inventors to bring their products to market. "We can't afford to drag our feet any longer," he said.
Passed in a rare display of congressional bipartisanship, the America Invents Act is the first significant change in patent law since 1952. It has been hailed as a milestone that will spur innovation and create jobs.
The bill is meant to ensure that the patent office, now facing a backlog of 1.2 million pending patents, has the money to expedite the app

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I would love to see new inventions coming to fruition, and in turn, creating new jobs. Do you think that is actually what will happen though? Or will it convolute things further?

One link says:
"It has been widely suggested that the new law could be contested on constitutional grounds. Article One, Section 8, clause 8 (AKA the 'copyright clause') of the U.S. Constitution empowers congress to pass laws in order "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." A "first to file" system seems to run afoul of the constitutional concept of invention, and the new law is almost certain to be challenged in the courts."
Will it even pass?

Thoughts?

Cheers

news.yahoo.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Qemyst


I haven't heard anything good about this when it was on the horizon. If it's like anything these days that comes out of Washington you can expect the little guy is going to somehow get the shaft.


I'll have to read the fine print.

reply to post by Qemyst


I don't know what the Patent Office needs more money for, I was an examiner there a few years ago and they make a huge profit on application fees already. That's why we were paid at a higher rate than regular government employees. We were 2 years behind then and I imagine they still are. I don't think more money is going to fix it. The problem is they can't keep employees for long. They hire many but most leave because you have to meet production quotas or you get fired.

I transferred to another agency so I didn't have to deal with that.

Here's my opinion
Patents are important to reward the real business people who strive for innovation

It is a slippery slope though, patents can be misued

but what if a company spends hundreds of millions on R&D and then a company that has kept so much profit just follows the leaders?

How is that fair?
It is because of this that we will see less innovation, because innovation will not get rewarded
So we will see so much less R&D budgets, because companies won't see a return on investment as much as they would in a patented world.

Let's say company A spends hundreds of millions on R&D and company B spends 0 dollars on R&D, uses Company A's idea and focuses all their money on QA, the manufacturing process and supply chain.
They will be left with more money for channel power

That's not fair
Ok forget fairness
It will hurt innovation

I'm still looking over the finer points, but so far it doesn't seem good. It seems like it will hurt those who lack funding that large corporations may have. It also seems like it could, in a round-about way, lead to sabotage for financial gain.

Small independent inventor comes up with X idea. X idea is a great idea.
Large, wealthy corporation hears about the idea by one way or another and wants to file the patent for it's own financial gain, but won't be able to do so if Small independent inventor files for it first.
Large, wealthy corporation, having a large supply of money, finds ways to file the patent first, either through sabotage, possibly even murder.

I can't say things like this are already happening, or that they aren't already happening. I just don't know, because I haven't looked that far into it yet.

I could see how something like that is already happening, but so far, it seems like this makes it more prone to happen. I dunno. More reading...

Cheers.

Originally posted by wtbengineer
reply to post by Qemyst

 

I don't know what the Patent Office needs more money for, I was an examiner there a few years ago and they make a huge profit on application fees already. That's why we were paid at a higher rate than regular government employees. We were 2 years behind then and I imagine they still are. I don't think more money is going to fix it. The problem is they can't keep employees for long. They hire many but most leave because you have to meet production quotas or you get fired.

I transferred to another agency so I didn't have to deal with that.

edit on 9/16/2011 by wtbengineer because: (no reason given)

I'm not sure either. They intend to 'streamline' the process. That may make it easier to the employees to make the quotas. I would think that would make it easier to retain employees. If the changes make it easier for the employees to do their jobs and, as a result, they retain more employees then I don't see why they need to increase their income at the cost of making more more difficult for smaller inventors to file for patents. It seems way too tailored to big businesses and the wealthy. STILL reading.

Cheers

An earlier thread was created to discuss this bill, not seeing this as a good thing for citizens:
If you have ideas and no money, you're pretty much out of luck

Well, if you thought you understood the world of patent law... be advised; our seriously corporate-bent legislators have flushed 200 years of patent law down the toilet.

We have joined the global community.... it's no longer "first to invent" it is NOW "First to file"

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by DontTreadOnMe
An earlier thread was created to discuss this bill, not seeing this as a good thing for citizens:
If you have ideas and no money, you're pretty much out of luck

Well, if you thought you understood the world of patent law... be advised; our seriously corporate-bent legislators have flushed 200 years of patent law down the toilet.

We have joined the global community.... it's no longer "first to invent" it is NOW "First to file"

www.abovetopsecret.com...

edit on Fri Sep 16 2011 by DontTreadOnMe because: (no reason given)

Exactly. Anything done by these jackals more than likely screws over the people that they claim that it intends to help.

"First to file" means someone can rape you for your invention. More catering to big business elites.

So, if you have an idea, invention, whatever....FILE YOUR PAPERWORK FOR IT ASAP before you even show another soul. Don't play around my creative brothers and sisters. You WILL be screwed if you're asleep at the switch.

This is already being contested on constitutional grounds. I have seen two separate writs and frankly... unless we have no true redress to reason, it will end up being rebuked by the Supreme Court.

Frankly, I expected that the MSM would have (should have) been much more engaged on this.. .but with the 9/11 productions and such, I can see why they are so late to the game.

I love how the glowing verbiage is tossed about on this.

It has been hailed as a milestone that will spur innovation and create jobs.

That is political tripe!

Propaganda notwithstanding, I expect that most will understand that the idea of "first to file" is a radical departure from 200+ years of American Patent Jurisprudence and this 'act' is an end run around the constitution,

Aside from the likely transition to another cancer of a 'quasi-governmental' entity foisted upon us; the 'exception' granted to the banks is a brazen concession by our so-called 'political leaders' to their party's favorite source of patronage. The true "first class" citizens of the nation.

The organizations that pretend to champion the causes of the 'little people' are conveniently and conspicuously asleep.

Please visit my thread if you want some more of the details which should trouble many people.....

www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by Qemyst

I would love to see new inventions coming to fruition, and in turn, creating new jobs. Do you think that is actually what will happen though? Or will it convolute things further?

It's a farce as evidenced by the fact that it's all too easy to patent utter garbage and pure abstractions. Naturally, the most technically inept need to be able to "innovate" and worse still, patent-munitions are understocked.

In other words, it's all too expedient already. This isn't for inventors; most likely it's a roundabout way of making it too dangerous for the little guy to do anything in a technical area lest they be crushed by the corporate hammers.

I'll go further and predict it's at it's roots a war on open source software.

The fact that the patent office is not more "stream lined" does hurt us and a boost in funding will help to fix an existing process that creates a back-log of patents.

However the patent process is also too expensive for the "average self-financed american inventor" which creates a huge problem of new innovations even being brought to light. By ignoring the "little guy" GREAT inventions remain hidden and human kinds progress is slowed. A more "user friendly" system should be designed.

For instance say an average american with engineering skills comes up with a perpetual self sustaining power source but doesn't have the finances to apply for patent or to hire other engineers to consult with the further development of the invention. The invention and HUGE innovation then stays locked away in that engineers head because he knows that if he trusts private investors they can screw him over and steal his invention. (which I've actually experienced.)

There should be some kind of "Think Tank" type provision and process developed so that someone has the ability to register thier idea, concept or invention and list it for developement by companies that do have the funding. Therefore being able to register and list thier Concept or Invention they retain some rights as the conceptual creator and are able to be compensated by a company willing to further develop and market thier Concept or Invention. This would bring Great New Innovations together with the needed Financing, Development, Manufacturing and Marketing. A system like this would bring to light and allow the financing of otherwise hidden extremely innovative idea's.

I'm one of those who has many many many inventions and engineered concepts that I just don't have the financing to develop, create, manufacture and market so my ideas stay hidden and major innovations stay hidden. The patent process as it stands now or with Presidents Obama's new revisions effectively does Nothing for me or Thousands in the same position. I think the new revisions to the patent system fall way short of a mark America needs to hit in order to return to a land of prosperity.

patents are worthless as long as the chinese has access to the patent office

I don't trust a damn thing that Obama supports or signed. Anything he does has to be viewed as "What's in it for him" and how he is going to "fundamentally change" the America that I know.

He is a lying, crack smoking, homosexual communist puppet.

Glad I got that off my chest.