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Patent Law

Patenting Human Genes Harms People

Dr. Elaine Schattner | Posted 04.15.2013 | Healthy Living
Dr. Elaine Schattner

The Supreme Court's decision about today's case will either extend or crimp the capacity of patients, doctors, researchers and other biotechnology firms, to use information about the human body to detect and treat other illnesses in the future.

The Economics of Cancer: Learning From India About Innovation

Matthew Kavanagh | Posted 04.08.2013 | Healthy Living
Matthew Kavanagh

But what if you want to incentivize investment in bold new drugs instead of me-too drugs? What if you want to encourage research into new areas that tangibly improve people's health? Then maybe, like India, you would only grant patents when that higher standard is met.

Patently Hysterical

Edward Reines | Posted 02.18.2013 | Science
Edward Reines

Skepticism about the United States patent system has hit historic highs. Even groups without an obvious interest in technology policy have joined the skeptics, such as the ACLU. But is this alarm warranted? Even more importantly, is it dangerous?

Antitrust Agencies Right to Expand Scrutiny of Patent Transfers and Acquisitions

David Balto | Posted 12.23.2012 | Business
David Balto

One of the most complex and daunting challenges facing competition regulators is the evolving intersection of antitrust and intellectual property law.

Don't Shoot the Samaritan

David Balto | Posted 10.23.2012 | Technology
David Balto

Punishing those willing to share technology will be a giant step backwards in the race to create the new products consumers need.

Where Are All the Jobs Patent Reform Promised?

Daniel B. Ravicher | Posted 08.11.2012 | Small Business
Daniel B. Ravicher

Last September, our esteemed leaders in Washington passed a law reforming America's patent system called the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. At the time, the promise from every politician in support of the Act was that it would create jobs.

Is Obama's Patent Reform Hurting American Small Businesses

Daniel B. Ravicher | Posted 07.10.2012 | Small Business
Daniel B. Ravicher

While I would never -- and have never -- advocated for abolishing the patent system, because that would be throwing the baby out with the bath water, we do need to fix our patent system so that it rewards innovation, not manipulation.

The Patent Pollution Problem: Its Causes, Effects and Solutions

Daniel B. Ravicher | Posted 07.01.2012 | Technology
Daniel B. Ravicher

it is critically important to the success of our patent system that it maintain high patent quality and ensures only deserving patents are issued. Unfortunately, the American patent system today is suffering from extremely low patent quality.

Could State Transportation Agencies Accused of Patent Infringement Use Constitution as Defense?

Daniel B. Ravicher | Posted 06.18.2012 | Technology
Daniel B. Ravicher

There has been much reporting lately of a small patent holding company named Arrivalstar accusing public transit authorities of patent infringement if they provide commuters with real time information about train, bus or subway schedules.

I Hope Yahoo Crushes Facebook in Its Patent Suit

Mark Cuban | Posted 05.13.2012 | Technology
Mark Cuban

When I read that Yahoo was suing Facebook my immediate reaction was disdain. As I thought more about it, I came to realize that this case could be the watershed moment that causes enough people to recognize just how horrific our patent law is.

The Patent Condundrum -- For Startups

Steve Rosenbaum | Posted 04.27.2012 | Technology
Steve Rosenbaum

Within the startup world, patents are seen as anti-competitive force that stifles innovation. We're in a place where we need to walk a tightrope between the world of predatory patent prosecution and the need to promote one's invention with current patent law.

Alexander Eichler

The Jefferson Innovation Summit: Business Leaders Brainstorm A New Era Of American Creativity

HuffingtonPost.com | Alexander Eichler | Posted 12.14.2011 | Business

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- No one knows where good ideas come from. In some cases, the answer may simply be to throw a bunch of brains together in a room...

Obama Signs Major Patent Reform Law

AP | Posted 11.16.2011 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama will sign the America Invents Act on Friday, the first significant change in patent law since 1952. The presiden...

Google/Android Patent Wars Highlight Need for Compulsory Licensing of Patents

James Love | Posted 10.15.2011 | Technology
James Love

The romantic notion of an individual inventor is not appropriate for industries like the computer, software or mobile phone markets, where collaboration and adherence to standards are key to success.

Google Buys Rat Poison

Jeff Jarvis | Posted 10.15.2011 | Technology
Jeff Jarvis

The Google/Motorola deal is lawyer repellent. Or rat poison, if you prefer. It is a tragic and wasteful byproduct of our screwed-up patent system. Nevertheless, this is good for Google and Android and its ecosystem.

The Age of Disablement

Brian Kahin | Posted 10.12.2011 | Business
Brian Kahin

Prices are being paid for the power to block others from using technology they have developed independently. Too many companies are now embracing legal weapons on large-scale -- and social capital is suffering.

Patent-Infringement Lawsuit Against Fark Settled for Zero Dollars. Also, Patent Trolls Suck...

Drew Curtis | Posted 10.11.2011 | Technology
Drew Curtis

A lot of you were already aware that Fark was sued by a patent troll back in January. But now it's over and I want to tell everyone what really happened: we didn't pay them a single dime.

Mark Cuban: Solving Our Country's Patent Law Flaws

Mark Cuban | Posted 10.08.2011 | Business
Mark Cuban

If we had process patents or the culture of software litigation in the 1980s as we have today current technology would consist of running terminals on DEC and Wang Computers at the local library for $10 per hour and there probably would not be a world-wide web.

Startups: Run Hard, Patent Later

John Dearborn | Posted 08.30.2011 | Business
John Dearborn

Patents don't generate revenues, the ideas they protect do. If your idea truly is something that hasn't been thought of before, than run with it for a while before you spend time trying to secure a patent.

House Approves Major Overhaul Of U.S. Patent System

AP | By JIM ABRAMS | Posted 08.23.2011 | Politics

WASHINGTON -- The House on Thursday voted to rewrite 60-year-old patent law to give inventors a better shot of obtaining patents in a timely manner an...

Facebook for Patents

John Bridgeland | Posted 07.06.2011 | Technology
John Bridgeland

Social media is literally helping fuel revolutions for democracy, so why not a revolution in the system that protects that mainstay of democracy -- invention.

Sweeping Changes To Patent Law Could Help Inventors

AP | JIM ABRAMS | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business

WASHINGTON — The patent system hasn't changed much since 1952 when Sony was coming out with its first pocket-size transistor radio, and bar code...

Seeds to Plant or Seeds to Patent?

Kurt Michael Friese | Posted 05.25.2011 | Home
Kurt Michael Friese

In these days of global corporations writing agriculture and energy policy, it is vital that we draw a line in the soil.

Software Patents Need to Be Abolished

Paul Kedrosky | Posted 05.25.2011 | Business
Paul Kedrosky

Far from encouraging innovation and advancement in the "useful arts," software and business method patents have become a quasi-legal poison pill.

When the Refs Don't Make Clear Calls: The Supreme Court and the Unclear Path for Innovators

Christina Gagnier | Posted 05.25.2011 | Technology
Christina Gagnier

Not being a soccer fan myself, I cannot fully appreciate the various tweets, articles and quips on the calls made by the referees during the 2010 Worl...