FTC Chairwoman Speaks On Growing US Patent Problem 87
ectoman writes "In a recent policy speech, Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Edith Ramirez indicated that the FTC might be preparing to seriously address patent abuse in the United States. Mark Bohannon, Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Global Public Policy at Red Hat, has reviewed Ramirez's remarks, calling them 'some of the most direct and specific to date from a senior U.S. Government official regarding "harmful PAE [patent assertion entities] activities."' Bohannon writes that the FTC's proposed roadmap for patent reform 'is both ambitious and doable,' and he discusses how the agency could make its potential contributions to reforms most effective. The piece arrives one week after Bohannon analyzed other patent reform efforts currently ongoing in Washington—in a piece Slashdot readers have been discussing."
Re: Patents cause progress stoppage (Score:4, Informative)
One of the abuses with patents is the continuous application for patents on the same area with minor adjustments on previous patents in order to essentially prevent the original invention patented from being free from patents once the initial one has expired.
It's certainly more limited in scope because they can't just wait until the initial patent is almost expired, but it is a problem that could easily be solved if examiners were willing to say that minor alterations do not a new invention make.
Re: Patents cause progress stoppage (Score:5, Informative)
No, parent post has a point.
Let me illustrate this with actual examples [arstechnica.com] where patent trolls sued small businesses for using a modern office scanner to scan documents to e-mail.
Or other cases where frivolous suits were filed against small businesses for the use of technologies like WIFI [eff.org].
My point is twofold: 1) Patents are being abused by patent trolls, who do not create, nor provide any incentive to creators and 2) Patent abuse is spreading to cause great distress to the general public. I'm sure that some of these businesses, when threatened, would opt to forgo the use of technologies such as scanners, WIFI etc. Scaring people off with frivolous lawsuits from using technology that could improve their performance, efficiency, efficacy or make their lives better is blocking progress.
Re:Patents cause progress stoppage (Score:5, Informative)
Mickey Mouse is protected by copyright, not patent.
Copyright relates to works regarding mostly publication and display.
Trademarks relate to logos, names, slogans, and such.
Patents relate to inventions. You make a good point, but your example is inadequate.
Re:Focus should be on the granting of patents (Score:5, Informative)
From TFA:
IV. PAE Harm is a Symptom of a Larger Problem
But Commission activity should be just one piece of a broader response. Flaws in the patent system are likely fueling much of the real costs associated with PAE activities. PAEs are good at monetizing patents. But effective monetization of low quality patents imposes a de facto tax on productive economic activity with little or no offsetting benefit for consumers