Patent Reform legislation has already passed the Senate. It has been marked-up in the House Judiciary Committee, and if the patriots don’t engage soon, the bill will pass the House by our nation’s birthday. It could be as early as this Thursday.
Unfortunately, many activists do not understand or fully appreciate the implications and dangers of the bill. In short, the bill is a radical assault upon our Constitution that will harm our nation’s inventors, entrepreneurs and our economy.
In order to be more like Europe, the legislation will “harmonize” American patent law with other nations, dramatically diminishing the patent protections offered to American innovators over the history of our Republic.
Who wants this bill? Multi-national corporations who could care less if this leads to more jobs overseas. If this globalist maneuver succeeds it will severely weaken our patent system and America will have lost the value of its greatest asset: the creative genius of our people. I am not alone in making these assertions. Glenn Beck made the same points this week on his radio show.
If enacted into law, provisions of this legislative onslaught will put America’s inventors at the mercy of multi-national corporations as well as state-sponsored cyber thieves. China is preparing itself for a onslaught against American intellectual property which will be made easier if this legislation becomes law.
H.R. 1249 mandates patents not be awarded to the inventor of new technology – as laid out in our Constitution — but instead to the first entity to file for a relevant patent. That means a company with a stable of lawyers will beat out the independent inventor who cannot afford multiple applications. This change is anti-inventor and pro-thief and copier, just the opposite of what our founding fathers had in mind for our patent system. First to invent is being replaced by first to file. It doesn’t take a genius to understand this is going to hurt America’s inventors. It may help big business and state-sponsored cyber thieves, but it will do great damage to our economy as it undermines our technological edge.
Just a few weeks ago, our Supreme Court decided a case that goes to the heart of the debate over H.R. 1249. In Stanford v. Roche, a patent infringement case, Chief Justice John Roberts held that “since 1790, the patent law has operated on the premise that rights in an invention belong to the inventor.” The “first-to-file” provision of H.R. 1249, which would allow Congress to award patents to non-inventors, is inconsistent with this decision. In short, H.R. 1249 violates our Constitution. Their motives may be to harmonize our law with the rest of the world, but that’s not always a good thing.
Making things worse, the bill also contains a special-interest giveaway to big banks and TARP recipients. Section 18 was specifically included in the bill to reward financial services companies with a new power – the ability to invalidate existing patents. Companies that received bailout money should not be rewarded with special privileges, but that is what this bill does. H.R. 1249 is the ultimate “big guy vs. little guy” legislation.
The time has come for action. Patriots need to let the House Leadership know this bill is counter to our Constitution and the values we hold dear. Congress needs to hear from the working people of this nation rather than the multi-national corporations, who could care less what this bill will do to the future of America.
Email your Congressman NOW and urge them to vote NO on H.R. 1249, the so-called “America Invents Act” that is in reality the “Patent Ripoff” bill.
Time is running out to save America’s patent system. The vote could be as early as Thursday.
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