Patents

Patents

There have been many efforts to reform the patent systems starting in 1919 and continuing today with major legislation being considered in Congress. For a comprehensive listing of these reform efforts see:

• "Patent Reform: The Future of American Innovation" (U.S. Senate, Judiciary Committee, June 6, 2007)
• Oversight Hearing on: American Innovation at Risk: "The Case for Patent Reform" (U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, 2007)
• A Patent System for the 21st Century (National Research Council of the National Academies, 2004)
• US Patent and Trademark Office: Transforming to Meet the Challenges of the 21st Century (National Academy of Public Administration, August 2005) Note:Please refer to Table 1-5, "Principal Recommendations of Panels and Institutions Studying the Patent System" on page 21 (page 46 in the PDF).
• Innovation and Its Discontents: How our Broken Patent System is Endangering Innovation and Progress, and What to Do About It (Adam B. Jaffe and Josh Lerner, Princeton University Press, 2004) Note: See pages 200-202 for a discussion on software patents.
• "Innovation and Its Discontents" (Wall Street Journal, March 21, 2006) (Subscription Required)

The Congressional Oversight Hearing on: American Innovation at Risk: "The Case for Patent Reform," held on February 15, 2007, indicates the continued momentum toward patent reform in the 110th Congress. Rep. Howard L. Berman, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, announced plans to introduce a patent reform bill in the near future with both bipartisan and bi-cameral support. Overall, there is a consensus that the improvement of patent quality is an essential step in the movement toward patent reform. To learn more about the EDUCAUSE role in relation to patents: Reform of Patent Law.

A Patent System for the 21st Century (National Research Council)

• Table of Contents
• A Patent Primer (What is a Patent?)
• What may be Patented?
• Statutory Standards for Patentability
• How are Patents Obtained?
• Patent Application Examination Process (flow chart)
• How is a Patent Challenged?

The Software Patent Controversy

• A History of Software Patents (Wikipedia)
• Software Patent Index (BitLaw: A Resource on Technology Law)
• Are Software Patents Evil? (Paul Graham)
• Patent Busting Project (Electronic Frontier Foundation)