The Economist on Patent Reform

ar1550 writes "The Economist recently posted an opinion piece on the state of patent systems, describing not just the mess that is the USPTO but flaws present in Europe and Asia. From the article, "In 1998 America introduced so-called 'business-method' patents, granting for the first time patent monopolies simply for new ways of doing business, many of which were not so new. This was a mistake." The article also describes the difficulty of obtaining legitimate patents. "

Comments

Re:How to benefit the consumer.

[jedaustin]

I have an interesting idea: Pass new legislation that makes it ILLEGAL for an individual or small business with less than 1000 employees to obtain a patent.
[Sarcasm]
Great Idea! Lets just kill the small business innovation protection. Lord knows that you must have 1000 employees to be creative these days. Gone are the days where a single individual can come up with new ideas that reshape the world.

With your idea in place:

Henry Ford would have needed at least 1000 employees before he could create the assembly line (and lay off at least 500 of them)!

Thomas Alva Edison would have to have 1000 employees before he could patent the light bulb!

Orville and Wilbur Wright would have to have 1000 employees before patenting the "Heavier than air flying Machine"!

Just think of a world where only rich companies could patent things.. Simply Heaven!

This will balance out the patent system and make the system fair for all involved. Clearly, such a patent system will benefit the consumer.
Yes! You know when you have 1000 employees the world is so unfair. Finally a fair system for companies with 1000 employees or more!
[/Sarcasm]