Hey Congress: When Something Awful You Did Is Sunsetting - Let It
We’d Prefer If They’d Stand There
There’s a line - a sentiment, actually - that governments everywhere really need to take to heart.
“Don’t just do something - stand there.”
Of course they won’t - because they’re governments. But it would be a lot cooler if they did.
Why do we want them standing there - rather than doing something? Because almost always the things they do - are awful and make things markedly worse.
Obamacare is a spectacular example.
Government “doing something” about health insurance - doubled premiums and tripled deductibles. And killed as many policies as its mandate forced people to purchase.
We REALLY wish The Feds would have just stood there.
Care for another example? There’s plenty you know.
How the America Invents Act Harmed Inventors:
“The America Invents Act (AIA) was the single worst disaster in the 226 year history of the U.S. patent system. The AIA did very real damage – enough to put many inventors out of business and discourage many others….
“The real damage was hidden in the AIA’s creation of the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) and three new procedures to invalidate issued patents – Inter Partes Review (IPR), Post Grant Review (PGR) and Covered Business Method Review (CBM)….”
All three aspects of the PTAB - are exceedingly awful. But that’s only because the entirety of the AIA is exceedingly awful.
And one of these exceedingly awful aspects - the CBM Review - is about to end.
Watching the Sun Set on Covered Business Method Review:
“The transitional program for Covered Business Method patents, enacted as part of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, will sunset on Sept. 16.”
Wait…that’s Wednesday. Yes, please.
What is a “business method patent?”:
“Business method patents are a class of patents which disclose and claim new methods of doing business. This includes new types of e-commerce, insurance, banking and tax compliance etc.”
“New,” of course, means novel. Which means patentable.
Until the AIA and its PTAB murder it:
“The AIA statute provides for CBM Review of CBM patents….(T)he regulatory definition does not provide much guidance….”
Because why would it provide much guidance? The unclarity - allows for the murder of many more patents - in many more economic sectors. Because like the Blob, the CBM Review’s alleged purview - has continued to expand omnidirectionally…well beyond its lawful bounds.
And the CBM review - allows you to murder patents for any reason your thieving mind can conjure:
“A powerful aspect of the CBM program is that the patents can be challenged on any ground (including patent eligibility)…."
And guess who benefits from the amorphous, patent-murdering CBM review? The very same patent-stealing huge Big Tech corporations - for whose benefit the entirety of the AIA was written:
“Apple, Google, and Samsung are still top petitions filers, which indicates that giant companies are using CBM review tool to invalidate patents of small firms or independent inventors.”
The War on Patents - is a case study in Big Business-Big Government cronyism:
“The battle of…patent reform…was started by wealthy multinational tech companies led by Google who, by using their huge market and deep pockets, massively commercialize technology they did not invent to take control of emerging multi-billion dollar markets.
“Once a tech market is taken, it is nearly impossible to unseat the incumbent, unless, of course, you have a patent and that patent can be defended.
“So these huge companies bought Congress to create law that destroyed hundreds of years of patent law repositioning it against the very people who invent most of the new technologies we all use, small tech startups and inventors.
“Congress and the Supreme Court have now ensured that the big stay big and the small do not disrupt their highly profitable cabal with the nuisance of patent rights.”
Perhaps Big Tech’s biggest cronyism from the many Congresses they have purchased - is the America Invents Act.
And one huge, heinous aspect of this giant heinousness - the Covered Business Method patent murders - is about to expire.
Except, of course - this Congress too has been purchased by Big Tech. So of course this is happening….
U.S. Senate Threatens to Extend Patent Invalidation Program
No, thank you.
Hey Congress: Don’t just do something - stand there.
This first appeared in Red State.