Patent Politics

• The Chinese: In the October 12th Republican Debate, Mitt Romney broke into his speech on patent rights and foreign trade: “I understand that if we don't get real careful and protect patents and designs and technology, that what we tend to sell the most of, those kinds of things -- intellectual property -- is going to get stolen by the Chinese or by others; that we have to recognize agreements have to be in our benefit, not just in their benefit…We need to make sure that the Chinese begin to float their currency and they protect our designs and our patents and our technology.”
• Tax Strategies: For his part, Barak Obama has proposed special legislation to block patenting of tax strategies. (Obama Tax Patent) The Bush Whitehouse has (at least implicitly) embraced these tax strategy patents.  Ed Lazear, the Whitehouse chief economic advisor, is the first named inventor on a pending patent application directed to a method of “multi-state tax analysis” filed by the Schwegman firm in Minneapolis. (Link).
• Patent Reform 2007: S.1145 is still hanging around the senate waiting for a couple of hours on the floor where it can be passed without debate…The Bill is in the Judiciary Committee, but it will move quickly if proponents can find 60 votes. (Informal reports are that they are only a handful shy.)

Comments

[Ronald J Riley]

Our count is about 42, that is more than a handful to pass. And then they face holds and a filibuster.

It looks to me like the Coalition for Patent fairness & PIRACY is going to get their tails kicked on the Hill and then they will continue to get their tails kicked in court for blatant theft of other's intellectual property. I am sure that at some point most of them will learn to change their ways. Well perhaps except for RIM, Bodog, Vonage, and Apple :) Another decade or so of attitude adjustments should get even the worst players past corporate adolescence.

Ronald J. Riley,
President - www.PIAUSA.org - RJR at PIAUSA.org
Washington, DC
Direct (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 9 pm EST.

[real anonymous]

The Coalition for Patent Fairness has a map with its members' locations. Curiously, the map includes Ontario, Canada. On October 5, 2007, I downloaded all the company information from the map. Ontario's entry was:

"Research in Motion
Mississauga, Ontario
Research in Motion
Ottawa, Ontario
Research in Motion
Waterloo, Ontario"

http://www.patentfairness.org/about_the_coalition/our_members.cfm

CPF has since apparently deleted that information from their site, but you can still find Research in Motion by clicking on Texas, and in this letter to Congress linked in question 30 of the NIPRA quiz:

http://judiciary.house.gov/Media/PDFS/CPF070905.pdf

Ya think they're trying to fool the public, or Congress? Perhaps next week Ontario will be wiped off their map....

http://www.nipra.org/action.html

[curiousAboutSenateBill]

Dennis wrote : " S.1145 is still hanging around the senate waiting for a couple of hours on the floor where it can be passed without debate"

What happened with this? I assume that it did NOT get the requisite 60 votes??
Am I correct, or can the proponents still try to rustle up the 60 votes?

Am I correct in my assumption that (i) they did not get 60 votes (ii) they cannot pass this bill this year without debate, and opponents can now fillibuster????

Could someone answer please ? Thanks

[anonymousAgent]

Interesting fact about Countrywide, a member of the coalition for patent "fairness":

Countrywide under investigation
By Kathy M. Kristof | 8:41 p.m.
CEO Angelo Mozilo sold $145 million as the company's shares went into a tailspin.

(from the LaTimes)

Why do people never scrutinize those "voices" calling for "reform"? they're not exactly as "white as snow" - ask the European anti-trust enforcers about M$, Intel, etc.

[real anonymous]

"The Coalition for Patent Fairness has a map with its members' locations. Curiously, the map includes Ontario, Canada."

CPF has now wiped Ontario off the map of public perception (though it is still the invisible driving force of the coalition). We at NIPRA have maintained an archival copy of the record for all who are interested to see:

http://www.nipra.org/coalition.html

Shame on you, CPF, for playing games with America for $$$ sake.

"Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."