According to a tech industry source, Leahy has changed his position in part as a result of pressure from the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, a lobbying group whose law firm Akin Gump recently hired Leahy’s long time chief-of-staff. The source added that Leahy is prepared to let the reform bill founder, and then draw political cover by casting blame for the failure on committee members’ inability to produce a suitable compromise. Meanwhile, the bill’s momentum has also been sputtering as a result of the trial lawyer bar pressuring other Senate Democrats to slow the bill
The US government is broken. It's obvious that the game is rigged to be anti-innovative. Government imposed rents discourage efficient movement of the markets & innovation. There is evidence that patents hinder innovation. There's no evidence that patents encourage innovation.
I might as well be yelling at the wind. The people in power want to remain in power and will do whatever it takes to keep ossification of the status quo.
That's pretty much what happens when you make vapid statements like "The US government is broken" on an internet forum largely peopled by folks who have absolutely no idea how the government works except as a proto-police state.
If you want to be heard, say something worth listening to.
1. In this incident, I'm not sure Sen. Leahy caved into Lobbiests? He probally did, but not sure.
2. I think the real reason is,"Our general view is to be good rather than to be fast," said Dana Rao, Adobe's vice president of intellectual property and litigation, told National Journal last month. It's especially important to get legislation just right, he added, because "we're not going to get a third shot at a patent bill in Congress," referring to the America Invents Act that Congress passed in 2011, which overhauled some aspects of the patent system."
3. No matter wat the outcome, I feel it will be challenged in the Supreme Court?
4. I hope this passes though.
5. I would like to see one clause added to this bill, and yes, I know it's too late, but the clause is; If you, or your company are below the federal poverty line--fees for patents, and trademarks should be
drastically reduced. Right now they give micro-entities a break, but it's not enough. Poor Americans should be able to file for patent protection. Lack of money shouldn't be
an reason. I don't think millions of poor people would flood the patent office with patent applications either, but
you might get a few poor boys, who had an original idea, who
filled out the papers correctly--get protection for their idea.
At the first hearing, Sen. Whitehouse [0] (D-RI) told reformers that we should be careful. He congratulated us for getting a bill through the House in this session where that house of Congress seems to determined to be uncooperative. He warned us not to get stuck in the Senate when we've made it so far even if we have to compromise; we can always try to get ground back in conference.
The strategy for trolls looks to be attacking loser-pays. Democrats want vulnerable innocents to be protected by the legal system. Most federal civil lawsuits that don't involve two giant businesses are by individuals against powerful companies. Democrats don't want to reduce the chances to individuals.
But patent cases are mostly by giant powerful trolls and scam litigation shops against small businesses. Trial lawyers who run Democratic policy don't think that's important enough to allow the thin edge of the wedge to get started.
If the Senate changes hands in 2014, that might make it easier to get this bill through. It will make it harder to get good Supreme Court justices, though. Last time there was a business method patent case, four of five wingnut Republican-nominated justices wanted to hamstring businesses with software and business method patents with almost no limits while four Democrat-appointed justices wanted to protect business methods from patenting entirely.
[0] They say every senator sees himself as a future president; how much worse must it be if your actual name is Whitehouse?
Crux issues