David Jones is the Executive Director of the High Tech Inventors Alliance, an association that advocates for balanced reforms in the Patent and Trademark Office, the courts, and Congress that address the root causes of these problems while advancing a patent system that promotes investment in new technologies and American jobs.
Over the past decade, Congress and the courts have made changes that have improved the patent system and encouraged American leadership in innovation. With our nation in a period of economic recovery, now is not the time to threaten that important progress.
Expansionists who claim that the U.S. needs more and stronger intellectual property are fond of arguing that patents convey constitutionally protected property that must receive treatment equal to that of tangible property. This has become a favorite talking point in their efforts to undo the positive changes made over the last decade by Congress and the Supreme Court. However, patents are not of the same quality and don’t have the same attributes as traditional property.
