The Story Behind Recent Patent Reform

rmstar writes "In an article titled 'The Spoilsmen: How Congress Corrupted Patent Reform,' Huffington Post reporter Zach Carter takes a look at the story behind the recent patent reform effort. It is an interesting and scary account of just how broken the legislative process is when it comes to intellectual property."

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The end of the article is particularly chilling

[makubesu]

For those of you who didn't read the whole article:

"A one-size-fits all system doesn't work in the 21st Century," says Manheim, before acknowledging: "The problem with that argument is that it might violate international law."

Unfortunately, tailoring patent laws to better suit different types of technology may run afoul of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), a treaty that countries must sign in order to join the World Trade Organization. Article 27 of TRIPS reads:

"Patents shall be available and patent rights enjoyable without discrimination as to the place of invention, the field of technology and whether products are imported or locally produced."

Although other nations have patent standards that affect different industries in different ways -- the European Union, for instance, does not generally grant software patents -- Manheim said the TRIPS language killed efforts to separate tech and pharma standards in 2007, as members of Congress balked at inviting a WTO backlash.

Drug companies may actually have won the patent fight in 1994, when the U.S. negotiated TRIPS and insisted on the nondiscrimination language. Many of the countries then trying to gain access to the WTO did not allow drug patents, concerned about citizen access to critical medicines. The U.S. wanted to make sure that its drug companies would be able to profit in other countries.