[Discussioni] NewsScan

[Francesco Potorti`]

PATENTLY ABSURD?
A number of industry and government officials have come to the conclusion
that the U.S. patent system has become absurd -- especially in fields such
as computers, software and biotechnology. Intellectual property attorney
Mark Banner says: "Very bad patents are getting through. It's draining
millions of dollars that could be spent on finding a better mousetrap." Yet
the current system has its defenders. Jon Dudas of the Patent Office insists
that most patents are valid, and Jay Walker (whose company patented the
"reverse auction") argues: "We as a nation are ahead of the rest of the
world because we have strong property rights. Everybody said you couldn't
have patents on electricity. Guess what? They were wrong." Others in the
debate take the position that the problem with the patent system is not that
it's unfair but that it's irrelevant: software executive Jordan Greenhall
says: "If you didn't have any patents at all, people would still be doing
the same stuff because of the speed of the marketplace." (USA Today 13 Jan
2004)
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2004-01-13-patentscover_x.htm