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September 27, 2004

Patent Lawsuits Stifle Innovation

From the New York Times

According to a couple of professors, the patent system is broken.  In their forthcoming book, "Innovation and Its Discontents: How Our Broken Patent System Is Endangering Innovation and Progress, and What to Do About It," the duo asserts that a few mistakes in the system have had monumental consequences.

The establishment of a single federal appeals court in the early 1980s was one such mistake, according to the authors.  Another was the change in financing of the USPTO.  Apparently, allowing the office to pay for itself was a bad idea.

The authors point out that as more patents are sought, examiners become more pressed for time.  This reduces the quality of patents issued.  Basically, the easier it is to get a patent, the less the patent is worth.

The authors set out a few goals in the book that seem worthy of consideration.  First, get rid of the notion that a patent examiner only needs a few hours to study relevant technology before making a decision on patentability.  Second, eliminate the uniform approach for all patents.  It makes sense to spend more time and money on inventions that are more important to society.

The authors think it is essential to get more information to examiners.  One way they think this is feasible is to provide incentive for third party involvement.

The authors admit that substantial change will not happen until corporations realize that changes in patent law can impact their profitability as much as tax changes.  Once this happens, the pool of patent lobyists will broaden beyond a few patent lawyers in the D.C. area.

The authors also criticize the litigation of patents, claiming that the money should be spent on the patent application process.  They say that lawsuits place emphasis on the fight over the idea, diverting resources from innovation.

In my opinion, this actually makes sense.  Less litigation would result in a level of certainty with regard to the validity of a patent.  This would, in turn, allow companies to accurately determine the value, without worrying about a later determination of invalidity.

The book comes out in November, and you can pre-order at Amazon.com for $20.37.  It sounds interesting, so I'm adding it to my Christmas list.

Posted by at 06:33 PM.
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