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US House Takes Up Major Overhaul of Patent System

Posted by samzenpus on from the cleaning-things-up dept.

Bookworm09 writes "The House took up the most far-reaching overhaul of the patent system in 60 years today, with a bill both parties say will make it easier for inventors to get their innovations to market and help put people back to work. Backed by Obama and business groups, the legislation aims to ease the lengthy backlog in patent applications, clean up some of the procedures that can lead to costly litigation and put the United States under the same filing system as the rest of the industrialized world."

3 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. "Backed by Obama and business groups..." by MyFirstNameIsPaul · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm sure this will work out well for small businesses.

    --

    I once took an excursion to Reddit, and later HN. Unlimited up/down voting sucks when dealing with a hive-mind.

  2. Yeah, but... by Penguinisto · · Score: 5, Insightful

    ...can we *please* kill off software patents while we're at it?

    (I know, too much to ask, etc. Knowing Congress, they'll just make it all that much easier for patent trolls and big corps to plow through even the silliest patents now.)

    --
    Quo usque tandem abutere, Nimbus, patientia nostra?
  3. This is not good. by gfxguy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Being like the rest of the world is a nice mantra that people keep throwing around, but most of the rest of the world simplified the system by having a "first to file" system, meaning someone could steal your invention and file first, and you'd have NO recourse. If that's the way to reduce litigation, then I'm not all for it.

    I'm not going to claim the U.S. is the best at everything, but just because the rest of the world does something doesn't make it better.

    First to file is NOT BETTER than first to invent.

    --
    Stupid sexy Flanders.