[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 96 (Thursday, July 21, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 21, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              LET'S NOT KILL OUR TECHNOLOGICAL LEADERSHIP

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                         HON. DANA ROHRABACHER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 21, 1994

  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, as drafted, the GATT implementing 
legislation includes a provision that will fundamentally change our 
present patent system. Today U.S. patents are protected 17 years from 
the time they are granted. The GATT proposal is to make this 20 years 
from the time of filing. This seemingly benign change would supposedly 
harmonize our system with Japan and Europe.
  This is not as simple or benign as it seems. Changing the beginning 
of the term from the grant date to the filing date will have a 
tremendously adverse and unintended effect on small inventors and U.S. 
competitiveness.
  Achieving patent harmonization to meet the GATT does not necessitate 
the proposed changes. GATT only calls for a minimum of 20 years from 
filing patent term. Therefore, the GATT goals can be met by increasing 
the length of the patent term to 20 years from the date of grant. 
Alternatively, the law could also be changed so that it protects the 
inventor for 20 years from filing or 17 years from grant, whichever is 
longer.
  Mr. Speaker, 50 distinguished inventors, 15 of whom are members of 
the National Inventors Hall of Fame, have written a letter to President 
Clinton expressing their fears concerning the proposed changes in U.S. 
patent law. I commend to my colleagues the following letter from these 
inventors. If, after reading this letter, you agree that the U.S. 
patent law should not be effectively shortened to ``20 years from 
filing'' you may contact my office or Congresswoman Bentley to sign a 
letter to President Clinton to make U.S. patent terms 20 years from the 
time of grant.

      An Open Letter to President Clinton From America's Inventors

     Hon. William Jefferson Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear President Clinton: We represent a cross section of 
     inventors who have developed inventions ranging from simple 
     consumer products to breakthrough technologies all of which 
     have contributed to our country's economic growth, standard 
     of living, health, and technological leadership. Most of us 
     are not only inventors but technology entrepreneurs. We share 
     your concerns about the growth of the U.S. economy and your 
     vision for America's continued greatness, but we are 
     concerned about unnecessary changes being proposed to the 
     patent laws in the GATT enabling legislation.
       The U.S. patent system was established in the Constitution 
     by our founding fathers. It is a unique and crucial part of 
     our free enterprise system. It has made the U.S. the world 
     leader, not just in pioneering new product concepts and 
     technologies, but bringing them to market. It is not a 
     coincidence that some of those who framed our form of 
     government were inventors: Benjamin Franklin, a founder of 
     the science of electricity, invented bifocals and the 
     Franklin stove. Thomas Jefferson, the first Patent 
     Commissioner, invented a cryptographic system that was used 
     by the United States during World War II. Lincoln, the only 
     president to be issued a patent, a patent litigator, and a 
     technology president who promoted several new technologies 
     into use in the civil war, declared ``patents added the fuel 
     of interest to the fire of genius.''
       Nobel Laureate Robert Solow estimated that 90 percent of 
     the U.S. economic growth is the result of technological 
     advances. Whole industries have sprung up from the inventions 
     of Edison, Bell, and the Wright brothers. A review of the 
     signatories of this letter demonstrate that today inventors 
     are still creating new companies and new industries. U.S. 
     technological leadership is based on American inventors' 
     willingness to challenge the conventional wisdom and our 
     patent system which supports them in that effort. The loss of 
     the vitality of our patent system will threaten our 
     technological leadership.
       It is the people of the U.S. who benefit from the high 
     growth, high paying industries which are created by inventors 
     and technology entrepreneurs.
       We understand that the enabling legislation for the General 
     Agreement on Tariff and Trade (GATT) includes administration 
     language that would change the present patent term from 17 
     years from the date of issuance to 20 years from the date of 
     filing. While most patents take 2 or 3 years to issue, 
     important patents, especially those in new technologies, take 
     longer--often a decade or more. One of Gordon Gould's laser 
     patents took 29 years to issue. The proposed change would 
     start the clock ticking before the patent issues, thus 
     encouraging delaying tactics by those who don't want the 
     patent to issue, penalizing inventors for patent office 
     delay, and significantly reducing the worth of the patent and 
     the incentive to invest in developing the invention.
       The patent system, like the First Amendment, is a critical 
     element of the Constitution, designed to protect and 
     encourage those who advocate change. The proposed 
     modifications to the patent law appear to have been inserted 
     in response to requests from those threatened by 
     technological change they can't control.
       President Clinton, you yourself understand the difficulty 
     innovators face. Indeed, you quoted Machiavelli on the 
     subject:
       There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more 
     doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to 
     initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies 
     in all those who profit from the old order and only lukewarm 
     defenders in those who would profit by the new order * * *
       The proposed patent changes would rob the U.S. of its 
     technological leadership by tilting the playing field even 
     more against pioneers and in favor of the copiers.
       It is crucial that any proposed patent law changes be in a 
     separate bill, apart from GATT. Such proposals should be 
     voted on ONLY after OPEN Congressional hearings. Congress 
     should have the benefit of testimony from not just patent 
     lawyers but inventors--especially those who have founded 
     companies based on their inventions. If Congress is to change 
     the patent laws, it must understand how the patent system 
     works from the perspective of not just big companies and 
     patent lawyers, but from inventors such as us.
       Passing GATT requires a minimal change to the current 
     patent system. GATT makes no reference to filing or issuance 
     dates. The U.S. patent system would comply with GATT by 
     making the patent term expire 20 years from issue. We 
     adamantly oppose any part of the proposed ``TRIPS'' 
     legislation that is not absolutely required by GATT. We urge 
     you to ask Congress to hold hearings on any on how to 
     strengthen the patent system.
           Sincerely yours,

                                                   Paul Heckel

                               (for Intellectual Property Creators
                                  and the Inventors listed below).
       Members of the National Inventors Hall of Fame and some of 
     their inventions: Dr. Frank Colton, Enovid, The first oral 
     contraceptive; Raymond Damadian, M.D., The Magnetic resonance 
     imaging scanner; Gertrude B. Elion, D.Sc., leukemia-fighting 
     & transplant rejection drugs. Nobel Laureate; Dr. Jay 
     Forester, Random access computer core memory; Gordon Gould, 
     Optically pumped laser amplifiers; Dr. Wilson Greatbatch, The 
     cardiac pacemaker; Leonard Greene, Aircraft stall warning 
     device; Dr. Robert Hall, High-voltage, high-power 
     semiconductor rectifiers; Dr. William Hanford, Polyurethane; 
     Dr. James Hillier, Electron Lens Correction Device; Jack 
     Kilby, Monolithic integrated circuit; Robert Ledey, M.D., The 
     full body cat scanner; Dr. Irving Millman, Hepatitis B 
     vaccine & test to detect hepatitis B; John Parsons, 
     Numerically controlled machine tools, and Dr. Robert Rines, 
     High resolution image scanning radar, internal organ imaging.
       Members of the American Collage of Physician Inventors: Dr. 
     Arnold Heyman, Bard/Heyman urethral instrument system; Dr. 
     Charles Klieman, Surgical Staplers; Dr. Robert Markison, 
     Sailboard hand rip for windsurfing and surgical instruments; 
     Dr. Lloyd Marks, Cardiac patient monitoring detector, and Dr. 
     Leo Rubin, Implantable defibrillator combined with a 
     pacemaker.
       Other Inventors: Ron Ace, Lightweight photochromic eyeglass 
     lenses; Dr. Sail Aisenberg, Ion assisted deposition of 
     diamond-like thin films; Dr. Paul Burstein, Rocket motor 
     inspection, system; Tom Cannon, Computer Kiosk for selecting 
     and printing greeting cards; Charles Fletcher, The 
     Hovercraft; Dr. Richard Fuisz, Rapidly dissoluble medicinal 
     dosage unit; Elon Gasper, Speech synthesis with synchronous 
     animation; Charles Hall, Waterbed; Paul Heckel, Card and rack 
     computer metaphor; Dr. A Zeer Hed, Freeze ablation catheter; 
     Anthony Hodges, RSI preventing computer keyboard; Walter 
     Judah, Ion exchange membrane; Ron Lesea, Telecommunications 
     equipment and electronic ballasts; Michael Levine, Magistrate 
     thermostat, One screen programming used in VCR Plus; Lawrence 
     B. Lockwood, Interactive multimedia information system; 
     Wallace London, Clothes hanger lock for suitcases, (London v. 
     Carson Pirie Scott); Edward Lowe, Kitty Litter; Cordell 
     Lundahl, Stakhand Hay Handler and other Farm Machinery; Paul 
     MacCready, The Gossamer Condor and Gossamer Albatross 
     airplanes; Jacob Malta, Musical bells (Multa v. Schulmerich); 
     George Margolin, Microfiche readers, folding pocket 
     calculators; Stan Mason, Shaped disposable diaper, microwave 
     cookware, granola bar; Kary Mullis, Polymerase Chain 
     Reaction, Nobel Laureate; Tod Nesler, Non-fogging goggles for 
     sport and the military; John Paul, Electronic ballasts; Bob 
     Polata, Composite masking for high frequency semiconductor 
     devices; Dr. Richard Pavelle, Method for increasing catalytic 
     efficiency; Peter Theis, Automated voice processing; Coye 
     Vincent, Ultrasonic Bond Meter, and Paul Wolstenholme, Self 
     erecting grain storage system.
       The Intellectual Property Creators Coalition: ALPHA 
     Software Patentholders, Paul Heckel President; American 
     Collage of Physician Inventors, Dr. Klieman, President, 
     Donald Banner, Patent Commissioner under President Carter; 
     The Inventors Voice, Steve Gnass, President; National 
     Congress of Inventors Organization, Cordell Lundahl President 
     and United Investors Association of the USA, Dr. Jenny Servo 
     President.

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