The America Invents Act (HR 1249) – A Bad Law That Will Change Your Life - Shelly Palmer

Jeff looked up from his notebook let out a sigh and allowed himself to smile It was the greatest idea ever amp8230 he was sure of it This was the one amp8230 easy to patent unique ways to reduce it to practice and everyone schooled in the art will be jealous as they agree that if only they39d thought of it they39d be rich What an awesome dayWhat to do now A patent attorney amp8211 but which one Jeff decided to call a guy he met at an industry event a few weeks earlier He was a savvy investor he39d know exactly who to retain This was going to rock You know the end of this story They create a startup file for a patent or two raise some money and live the American Dream This is quotthequot fantasy of every inventor tinkerer entrepreneur VC private equity professional etc Sometimes it has a happy ending sometimes it doesn39t but the great thing about it is that the existing intellectual property laws and the United States Patent Trademark Office combine to make a powerful platform for innovation and entrepreneurshipToday everyone can dream this dream and with hard work and a little luck they can translate the value of their intellectual property into wealthSadly amp8211 this is all about to changeA while back I received an email from my friend Gary Lauder He39s a VC technologist inventor and multiple patentholder He wanted my help getting the word out about pending legislation called The America Invents Act HR 1249 The title of this bill sounds like it portends something great for American Inventors amp8211 I assure you it does notAs Gary brilliantly articulates in an interview on Shelly Palmer Digital Living The Podcast The America Invents Act may seriously harm your ability to protect and profit from your ideasHowFirst the end of quotfirst to inventquot Under the current law it doesn39t matter when you file your patent application you are protected the moment you come up with a description of your idea What this means is that here in America you can file your patent after your competitor files but be granted the patent because you can prove that your notes and demonstration materials were created before your competitors notes and demonstration materials were createdUnder the new law the patent will be granted to the quotfirst to filequot just like it is in Europe This may not sound so bad but it is Why Because it will require every inventor to be in stealth mode until they file for their patents How will an individual come up with the thousands of dollars required to file a patent without talking to an investor first Worse yet telling anyone colleague teacher supplier business associate about your idea would enable them to steal it from you just by beating you to the patent office and applying under someone else39s name that you don39t recognize so you can39t prove that the applicant derived it from you Hackers can also do this to you wo your knowledge This is antiinnovative anticollaborative antismall business and just plain badDoes quotfirst to filequot hurt big companies Not nearly as much Big companies have research and development departments internal confidentiality agreements and teams of lawyers on staff amp8211 the two kids in the proverbial quotgaragequot inventing a practical cold fusion reactor probably don39t America was built on a model of open innovation amp8211 this proposed legislation is going to make it a thing of the pastAccording to Gary quotOther changes will make it easier to accidentally lose the ability to obtain a patent eg if you offer your invention for sale or publicly use it will more easily enable an infringer to defend themselves by showing such actions prior to the plaintiff39s application and will enable infringers to postpone the issuance of other39s patents by filing expensive postgrant review procedures which can also cost a company more than they can affordquotThe deeper you dive into HR1249 the more you realize that this bill is absurd If you want to know more I urge you to visit httpwwwlauderpartnerscomPatentReform Gary does a great job explaining the issueIf you want to contact your senators and voice your opposition to The America Invents Act HR1249 visit httpwwwreformaiaorgcall there you will find everything you need to reach themTime is of the essence Senator Harry Reid filed cloture on the bill so that it will be the first up after the break which ends on September 5 2011 If you want to keep innovation alive for individuals and small businesses and preserve America39s open model of innovation contact your senators and tell them to vote NO on HR1249 amp8211 your voice will make a differenceShelly Palmer is the host of NBC Universalamp8216s Live Digital with Shelly Palmer a weekly halfhour television show about living and working in a digital world He is Fox 5 New Yorkamp8216s Onair Tech Expert WNYWTV and the host of Fox Televisionamp8217s monthly show Shelly Palmer Digital Livingamp160 He also hosts United Stations Radio Networkamp8216s MediaBytes a daily syndicated radio report that features insightful commentary and a unique insiders take on the biggest stories in technology media and entertainment He is Managing Director of Advanced Media Ventures Group LLC an industryleading advisory and business development firm and the President of the National Academy of Television Arts ampamp Sciences NY the organization that bestows the coveted Emmyamp174 Awards Palmer is the author of Television Disrupted The Transition from Network to Networked TV 2nd Edition York House Press 2008 the seminal book about the technological economic and sociological forces that are changing everything and the upcoming Overcoming The Digital Divide How to use Social Media and Digital Tools to Reinvent Yourself and Your Career York House Press 2011 For more information visit shellypalmercomRead all Shelly39s MediaBizBloggers commentaries at Shelly Palmer ReportCheck us out on Facebook at MediaBizBloggerscomFollow our Twitter updates MediaBizBloggerThe opinions and points of view expressed in this commentary are exclusively the views of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaBizBloggerscom management or associated bloggers MediaBizBloggers is an open thought leadership platform and readers may share their comments and opinions in response to all commentaries

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The America Invents Act (HR 1249) – A Bad Law That Will Change Your Life - Shelly Palmer

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