Nurture agriculture success: Protect patent rights
Posted by Truth About Trade & Technology
Wednesday, 02 April 2008
Des Moines Register
Iowans are justifiably proud of our national reputation as a leader in agriculture production. Our state consistently ranks at or near the top in nearly all categories of grain and livestock production. But that standing could be threatened by the Patent Reform Act of 2007, being considered by the U.S. Congress.
How is that possible? Because these proposed changes would diminish the innovation that lies at the very heart of the agriculture production we have here in Iowa. Food production is a science as old as mankind, but the science is advancing rapidly. Because of dramatic advances in technology, American farmers have been able to bring crops to the global marketplace that once would have been decimated by pests or adverse weather conditions. Through technology, grain production has increased sharply in recent decades.
Innovation and invention take time and resources. To bring a seed variety from the lab to the farm typically takes an organization like Pioneer nearly a decade and millions of dollars in research and development. The current patent system helps make that kind of commitment worthwhile, because once an inventor is granted a patent, he or she has the security of knowing it cannot be frivolously overturned or ignored.
The proposed legislation would establish a new administrative procedure that significantly lowers the standard for challenging a patent, and allows a challenge for an indefinite period. This would invite would-be infringers to initiate and maintain patent challenges that have no merit, holding the true innovator hostage. The legislation also alters the formula for calculating damages in patent-infringement cases, putting patent owners at a serious disadvantage. These changes would only encourage patent infringement and harm U.S. innovators.
Improvements to the patent system are needed, and Pioneer supports changes to allow for fair, timely and substantive challenges to patents, and to modify patent-damages law - provided patent owners are adequately compensated when infringement has been established. Pioneer and our parent company, DuPont, are willing to work with lawmakers to ensure our nation's patent system is improved, not undermined.
America's farmers are facing challenges like never before, with rapidly evolving food, feed and fuel needs around the globe. We at Pioneer are proud of our nearly 80-year history of providing Iowa's farmers with the tools they need to continue America's leadership role in agriculture. That is why we urge those who share our concerns to let your representatives in Congress know that America needs patent reform that encourages innovation and promotes invention.
Ask them to vote "no" on The Patent Reform Act of 2007 unless it is first amended to address several critical defects.
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