Patent Changes Update

Well, it looks like the patent law overhaul that I mentioned in my previous post is closer to reality and almost assured of being signed into law.

While some of the provisions seems reasonable, the "biggie," which is the change to a first-to-file system from a first-to-invent system, will be extremely destructive to innovation, especially among independent inventors. This provision clearly and overwhelmingly favors the huge corporations that forced this legislation on us.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania that showed that when Canada changed its patent system in a simlar manner in 1989, filings by independent inventors dropped and did not recover.

Think about it... the rest of the world uses the first-to-file system, but virtually all of the significant technology development in the world occurs in the U.S., with its first-to-invent system. Has anyone in Washington ever heard of the sage advice: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?" (Of course not; silly me!)

Unfortunately, it looks like this is a done deal, according to what I have read.