Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Why United States Patent Reform Has Stalled

Posted by timothy on from the buyer's-market dept.

ectoman (594315) writes Proponents of patent reform in the United States glimpsed a potential victory late last year, when the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3309, the Innovation Act, designed to significantly mitigate patent abuse. Just months ago, however, the Senate pulled consideration of the bill. And since then, patent reform has been at a standstill. In a new analysis for Opensource.com, Mark Bohannon, Vice President of Corporate affairs and Global Public Policy at Red Hat, explains three reasons why. "For this year, at least," he writes, "the prospect of addressing abusive patent litigation through Congressional action is on ice"—despite the unavoidable case for reform.

8 of 139 comments (clear)

  1. Uh, what? by drinkypoo · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The article seems to explain what is [not] happening, not why. But I thought we already knew why. It's called the influence of money on politics.

    --
    "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    1. Re:Uh, what? by i+kan+reed · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Well, the senate is complicated, and we could go into the whole details of how anonymous holds work, the potential for "single senator" filibusters, the difficulties of getting things out of committee in the face of a single powerful shill against the bill. The likely imperfections in the bill's language that would make those who actually support the concept to not support the actual thing, the fact that one party actively made a mission of having no bipartisan bills pass until Obama is out of office, or the relative lack of popular support outside of the tech sector.

      Any or all of those could have come to into play. But it's easier to pretend that those damn [other party] have the opposite of America's best interest at heart.

    2. Re:Uh, what? by MightyMartian · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Or, to put it another way, Congressmen are vile repugnant greedy pigs.

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    3. Re:Uh, what? by HornWumpus · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Except that's not what happened here. In this case the party in charge of the Senate prevented it from leaving committee. Protecting their shyster master's cash cow.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  2. Why find a solution... by tysonedwards · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When there is money to be made in perpetuating the problem?

    --
    Thirty four characters live here.
  3. Politics by jellomizer · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Here is the problem.
    The Right Wing Media has done such a good job a painting the Democrats and Obama as pure Evil, is that any sign of working with the Democrats on anything is a sign that they are being manipulated. So these politicians cannot dare to do anything that will make Obama side considered a win. As if they did they will get voted out in the next primaries.

    The Left Wing Media makes the Right Wing like they are so out of touch and evil, so the Right feels constantly threatened, thus makes their stance more resolved.

    This degree of Polarization has gone to the Crazy level.
    Simple common sense solutions will not go threw because it was the other side who came up with it first.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:Politics by jellomizer · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I do listen to NPR. They have gotten a bit more moderate, however their is a liberal tone in their discussions.

      They are not Rant Radio. But they are more apt to paint a negative image to the Tea Party without trying to show their virtues. As well the Occupy movement they made them seem a bit more organized and virtuous then they actually were.

      That said NPR actually tries to give you news, Not commentary. But they get their views out in deciding what stories to play, and what isn't worth it.

      --
      If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
  4. Re:Gotta pay whoever comes up with this stuff! by JesseMcDonald · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I'm sorry, were you going for +1, Funny or -1, Naive? What you stated is indeed the standard line in support of patents, but unfortunately for that argument there is little evidence to suggest that patents actually foster innovation. There is, on the other hand, plenty of evidence to support the opposite position, that patents, like pretty much every other monopoly imposed by law, have a tendency to impede natural innovation and raise barriers to entry. Innovation occurred before patents, and would continue to occur if we eliminated all patents tomorrow. Perhaps not exactly the same kind or to the same extent, but rather the kinds and extent of innovation which make sense given supply and demand in the absence of artificial subsidies—the kind where innovators profit by enriching society rather than wasting resources in pursuit of monopoly rent-seeking.

    --
    "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." - Bastiat