Patent 'reform' bill is no stimulus
As we contemplate who will be our next president, it is a good time to reflect on the wisdom of our nation's most influential leaders.
Inventor and President Abraham Lincoln said the introduction of the patent laws was one of the three most important developments in the world's history, along with the discovery of America and the perfection of printing, saying "the patent system added the fuel of interest to the fire of genius."
Lately, there has been a lot of interest on the part of certain companies in changing patent law and a fair amount of genius in naming this effort The Patent Reform Act of 2007, or PRA.
"Patent reform" doesn't have the street appeal of, say, a "stimulus package," and this has kept it off the radar of the general public, as PRA has passed the House of Representatives (HR1908) and is now in the Senate (S1145). However, PRA would have significant long-term impact — negative impact — on the health, prosperity and general welfare of Missouri citizens if passed.
The Feb. 10 commentary ("Patent laws need updating: Reform will protect valuable innovation") by Grier C. Raclin, the executive vice president and general counsel of Charter Communications Inc., claims that "this legislation would rectify the current imbalances in the patent system that are working against American innovation, job growth and consumer welfare."
In fact, this legislation would do the opposite. In a letter to Missouri Sens. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond and Claire McCaskill, the St. Louis Regional Chamber & Growth Association stated that PRA "will fundamentally reduce the value of innovation by making it easier to challenge patents after they have been granted, making it less costly to infringe patented technology, and creating obstacles for employers to protect intellectual property in Missouri's courts."
Let's start with American innovation and recognize that while the number of patents issued in Missouri is trending up, it is due in part to the efforts of Monsanto, another St. Louis-based company. Recently, The Patent Board, an independent provider of research for investors, has identified Monsanto as a technology leader in the biotechnology industry, with the second-highest numbers of patents. Over the years, Monsanto has been granted more than 4,000 patents.
These are patents that drive our business, employ thousands of Missouri citizens and produce significant state and federal revenue that can be used for the benefit of all. Weakening the patent system — which is what the "reform" would accomplish — would make it harder to defend against intellectual-property theft by unscrupulous companies outside the U.S., and patent infringers would face reduced penalties even if eventually they were brought to justice.
Prosperity is important to all. That many jobs rely on innovation and patent rights gets straight to the point. This is why unions such as the AFL-CIO and United Steel Workers oppose current patent "reform" language — in unison with major employers such as 3M, Caterpillar, Procter & Gamble and hundreds of others.
This may seem surprising, but it makes perfect sense. If a U.S.-patented "widget" made in the U.S. can be copied and manufactured by a foreign company and sold back to the U.S. under more-lenient, "reformed" patent laws, the related jobs just evaporated and were sent abroad.
This brings us to welfare. The inventors of technologies that enable modern medicine to save lives and cure disease rely on strong patents. It's no coincidence these companies oppose PRA. They include Pfizer, another major employer in St. Louis. Anyone waiting and hoping for new therapies that require heavy research and investment risks by the private sector has a lot at stake in PRA.
Monsanto invests $2 million daily in research and development to create and patent technology that helps grow more food, fuel and fiber at lower overall cost for our world. Our pipeline is full of new environmentally sustainable technologies, such as drought-tolerant crops, that are made possible by a patent system that grants companies the certainty we need to invest.
Monsanto supports patents and respect for the inventions of others. However, the proposal being pushed now by some special interests — including companies with production facilities outside the U.S. — would weaken innovation and make it easy to steal from the true creators.
President Lincoln was right — and we hope senators agree — the patent law should not be weakened.
