Another great example of advocacy/policy in action.
(and I highly encourage everybody to participate in this action)
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 2011 Patent Reform Act
Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2011 20:12:52 GMT
From: Russell Harrison <[email protected]>
Reply-To: Russell Harrison <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
IEEE Members:
Congress continues to move ahead with the deeply flawed Patent Reform
Act of 2011. To stop this bill, we need as many people as possible to
contact Congress in the next week to express their concerns.
The Patent reform Act of 2011 is the most dramatic change to US patent
law of the last 70 years. IEEE-USA, along with many other groups, oppose
the bill because we believe it favors large companies at the expense of
smaller inventors when it comes to issuing patents.
Specifically, the bill shifts the United States from being a"first to
invent" country to a "first to file" country. This means that, when two
people invent the same thing at roughly the same time, the patent would
go to whomever got their patent application filed first. Under existing
law, the person who invented the product first usually gets the patent.
This shift would cause several problems. The most important of these is
the effective elimination of a grace period for inventors. Currently,
inventors can take about a year to file their patent application without
risking their intellectual property. Under the new law, this protection
would disappear so that inventors would have to file for a patent
immediately or risk losing the rights to their ideas. This is true even
if the inventor doesn't know if his/her ideas will work yet. This system
establish a clear advantage for big companies with many lawyers, which
can afford to file patents quickly and often. Smaller inventors and
companies cannot.
The Patent bill also does not do many things that it should. The bill
does little to improve the quality of patents or of patent examiners.
And it doesn't reform the patent system to accommodate the accelerated
pace of innovation.
A more detailed discussion of the flaws in the patent Reform Act can be
found here:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/26/patent-reform-proposals-threaten-american-prosperi/
Additional details can be found at the IEEE-USA Legislative Action
Center, which also allows you to quickly contact your legislators.
www.ieeeusa.org/policy/lac
Most people in Washington thought the Patent Bill would pass in mid-May.
Opposition from engineers and patent attorneys have caused Congress to
pause to reconsider the bill, but it is far from dead. A growing
coalition of legislators have begun speaking in opposition to the bill,
but unless Congress hears from the voters, the bill is still; likely to
pass.
Action on the Patent reform Act of 2011 is now expected in mid-June.
Please contact Congress this week, even if you have already done so this
year.
Thank you for your help.
Russell Harrison
IEEE Members:
Congress continues to move ahead with the deeply flawed Patent Reform
Act of 2011. To stop this bill, we need as many people as possible to
contact Congress in the next week to express their concerns.
The Patent reform Act of 2011 is the most dramatic change to US patent
law of the last 70 years. IEEE-USA, along with many other groups,
oppose the bill because we believe it favors large companies at the
expense of smaller inventors when it comes to issuing patents.
Specifically, the bill shifts the United States from being a"first to
invent" country to a "first to file" country. This means that, when two
people invent the same thing at roughly the same time, the patent would
go to whomever got their patent application filed first. Under existing
law, the person who invented the product first usually gets the patent.
This shift would cause several problems. The most important of these is
the effective elimination of a grace period for inventors. Currently,
inventors can take about a year to file their patent application without
risking their intellectual property. Under the new law, this protection
would disappear so that inventors would have to file for a patent
immediately or risk losing the rights to their ideas. This is true even
if the inventor doesn't know if his/her ideas will work yet. This
system establish a clear advantage for big companies with many lawyers,
which can afford to file patents quickly and often. Smaller inventors
and companies cannot.
The Patent bill also does not do many things that it should. The bill
does little to improve the quality of patents or of patent examiners.
And it doesn't reform the patent system to accommodate the accelerated
pace of innovation.
A more detailed discussion of the flaws in the patent Reform Act can be
found here:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/may/26/patent-reform-proposals-threaten-american-prosperi/
Additional details can be found at the IEEE-USA Legislative Action
Center, which also allows you to quickly contact your legislators.
www.ieeeusa.org/policy/lac
Most people in Washington thought the Patent Bill would pass in
mid-May. Opposition from engineers and patent attorneys have caused
Congress to pause to reconsider the bill, but it is far from dead. A
growing coalition of legislators have begun speaking in opposition to
the bill, but unless Congress hears from the voters, the bill is still;
likely to pass.
Action on the Patent reform Act of 2011 is now expected in mid-June.
Please contact Congress this week, even if you have already done so this
year.
Thank you for your help.
Russell Harrison
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