Slashdot Mirror
New Patent Legislation Makes Some Headway
dreamchaser writes "EETimes has an article discussing new legislation that will stop Congress from siphoning off money from the Patent Office. The hope is that increased money in the coffers will allow the hiring of more highly skilled engineers to look at technical patents, as well as speed up the sometimes ponderous process of securing a patent. The bill has passed the house with a resounding 379-28 vote, and now goes to the Senate. Given all the discussions about how so many bad patents are being granted, could this be a good thing?"
Subject pretty much says it all.
Wonder if they'll consider outsourcing to India :).
One should not theorize before one has data. -Sherlock Holmes-
If the patent creates a marketable product, who do you think fills the jobs to make said product? Elves?
I don't know. Let's ask Martha.
If you're ideas were implemented, instead of people sitting on ideas until that million dollar buyout, they would just not come up with them in the first place. Sure, people would still have ideas, but they wouldn't put a lot of time and money into researching something truely unique and revolutionary, if there were no possibility of a big payout. Its not that they are too lazy or greedy, its that it takes a lot of cash to research something like cancer drugs and if nobody can make money off of it, nobody will invest in the research, and no new drugs will be produced. Are you still convinced this is a good idea?
Just post each new questionable patent idea on Slashdot and let the responses guide the search.
I took a patent law class this year at school, and the professor started the class with a video put out by the patent office. it went something like this - an inventor creates an invention. he sees a lawyer who will fill out some documents for the invention and sends it to the patent office. once at the patent office, it gets sorted and passed to the examiner's office, where it SITS IN A PILE AND WAITS ITS TURN! AFTER ALL THE EXAMINER IS VERY BUSY, AND THE DOCUMENTS MUST WAIT THEIR TURN!
If that's not a prime example of inefficiency....
This may just be the cynic in me speaking, but getting the senate to vote on whether or not they can siphon off money doesn't seem like it will work.
That is like taking a vote to see if your industry will take a paycut.
Hey, maybe that can be the next Slashdot poll
Would you take a paycut to continue doing your current job?
1. Yes
2. No
3. I am an American IT worker... I have no job
I am not stubborn. I am right!