[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 107 (Friday, August 5, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 5, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 GATT UNFAIR TO AMERICAN PATENT HOLDERS

  (Mr. ROHRABACHER asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, this body will soon be making a 
decision on GATT. Unfortunately, powerful interest groups are using 
this trade legislation as a vehicle to accomplish other goals for 
themselves. Few of my colleagues realize that the GATT implementation 
language will dramatically reduce the patent rights of our Nation's 
inventors, to the benefit of huge Japanese and American multinational 
corporations.
  Mr. Speaker, I support free trade. I was a strong advocate of NAFTA. 
I ask my colleagues today to join me in opposing GATT as long as it 
contains provisions that will whittle away the patent rights of our 
inventors to provide a windfall to the big guys.
  I am insulted that they are trying to pull this sort of thing in the 
first place. Let us send GATT back to Mickey Kantor, tell him to pull 
out these provisions of GATT, and send it back to the House. Let us not 
undo the rights of our inventors so that big buys overseas and big guys 
here can make a profit and benefit from their inventions, while we 
restrict the patent rights of our own creative people.

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