I’m an engineer and ideally I would, should I invent something, benefit from a patent.  However, the USA’s current patent system is showing a number weaknesses.

Patent Weakness #1: The patent office is filled with lawyers not scientists/engineers

The patent office has, for the past decade or so, been giving out patents for genes and software like Amazon’s One Click.

Pharma companies didn’t invent DNA or genes.  They simply discovered the gene for a disease and thereby a possible path to cure.  Why should anyone have to pay royalties for studying said gene or discovering a cure independent of the pharma that identified the gene.

In my opinion Amazon’s One Click patent was the epitomy of the stupidity of the patent office.  The patent clerks kept arguing for prior artwork deomonstrating that someone else had already developed a One Click feature.  This is ludicrous.  The point of software is automate mundane tasks with a minimal amount of information and work by the user.  So what does One Click do fundamentally different than any other button on any other piece of software?

Patent Weakness #2: Patents live way too long…

In an age where software and services change every 6 months on the internet, how does a 20 year patent fit into the equation?  It doesn’t, 20 years for a patent slows down our progress, it does not accelerate it.

The USA gets 1 cell phone version upgrade for every several that are seen in Asia.  Yet companies, like Sony, are still making plenty of cell phones.  Constantly reverse engineering those phones and producing the next cell phone generation.  Hmmm…  But, the whole world economy would just fall apart if we got rid of patents…

Patent Weakness #3: Companies stiffle innovation through intellectual property lawsuits in order to protect their market share

Currently many companies whine about an individual’s right to sue them because they feel abused by frivolous lawsuits.  However, this doesn’t stop big companies from suing little companies frivolously.  They sue over patent infringment.  Everyone in the courtroom knows the suit is frivolous but the big company ties up the little company in court for years.  Draining their resources, preventing the little companies from furthering their technology.  In the end the little guy goes out of biz or is so drained they are hardly competitive anymore.

Great use of the court system and my taxes go towards this crap.  Stiffling innovation is not only an economic issue but a national security issue.  As such, when companies stiffle innovation through the use of patents it hurts the entire country for years to come and when they stiffle innovation just to protect market share they deserve to be severely punished.  Not rewarded.

Time to wake up and heavily revise our patents and intellectual property…

Patents have served their purpose.  It’s time to get rid of them.