Inventors Protest Patent Reform Bill

narramissic writes "A group of inventors and U.S. company execs, among them Dean Kamen, inventor of the Segway and the AutoSyringe, and Steve Perlman, inventor of WebTV and lead developer of Apple Inc.'s QuickTime, paid a visit to Washington to encourage Congress to defeat the Patent Reform Act. The inventors say the Act will weaken the patent system, devalue patents, and encourage infringement. A version of the act, which passed the House of Representatives earlier this month, is supported by several large tech vendors including Microsoft, IBM, and Cisco. The big companies hope it will make it harder for patent holders to sue and collect huge damage awards when only a small piece of a tech product is found to infringe."

Comments

Yes, but Segways are more dangerous than obvious.

[Futurepower(R)]

Sure, but Segways are not good transportation, when compared to a bicycle, for most purposes. Segways cost about 30 times more and are VERY dangerous in conditions that normally exist outside, in my opinion.

Inside, they may have a use, if it is sensible to buy transportation that costs $6000 for one person's use inside.

Segways, and many things in modern U.S. society, use legal protection that that average person doesn't really understand. If people knew the meaning of the label, they would be far, far more careful. The label means, "If you are in the hospital, we don't have to care."