An Interview with

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In this interview, discusses his thoughts on pending legislation, inventor protection and some of his ideas on future patent issues. Andy Gibbs, of the Patent Cafe, conducted the interview. is the founder of The Hook Appropriate Technology; a performance based licensing, marketing and new product development company.

Andy Gibbs Hi Hal! We hear your name a lot now in the invention community. How did this happen? What is your involvement?

Andy Gibbs Please tell us why you are leery about big corporations regarding their dealings with inventors?

Harold Meyer There has been a history of big manufacturers taking advantage of inventors since the beginning of the US patent system. It's the classic 'David v. Goliath' scenario, about which I wrote another essay recently. Some of the big companies feel they can try to strong-arm inventors. One method has been with drawn-out court battles. Another is by trying to invalidate the patent. Still other groups of manufacturers have teamed up in a coalition to try to defeat an inventor. It's very upsetting and unfair. But, I'd like to add that not all companies are like this.

Andy Gibbs How can inventors protect themselves?

Harold Meyer The classic way has been through a patent. I've heard various opinions, but generally, it is thought that the courts are now more pro-patent than before, so it is getting a little easier for inventors. Again, although I have heard conflicting reports, supposedly the CAFC (Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that was created around 1983) is now the centralized venue for all patent appeals. Some observers feel that CAFC has issued more united decisions on patent validity and has unified the case law. Before, there were more courts involved, less precedent centralization and more politics.

Andy Gibbs What are the ramifications of the proposed patent reform bills, both on the economy and on independent inventors?

Harold Meyer Disastrous on all fronts. As you know, this legislation is a real nightmare. These bills are horrid. To answer your question, the bills invite more litigation, weaken our country's international position and ultimately, for a variety of causes, hurt our economy. As I mentioned earlier, it is difficult enough to enforce patents today! The proposed legislation makes it even harder for inventors to protect themselves.

Andy Gibbs What groups are really behind the bills and who stands to win or lose? How?

Harold Meyer Basically the FORTUNE 500 is for the bills. There is a lobbying group in Washington called IPO (Intellectual Property Owners) which is their front organization. Their coalition group has combined revenue of over $1.2 trillion. Yet, incredibly, they have put out a lot of misinformation about 'big moneyed' inventors lobbying against the bills and a lot of other nonsense. The basic story is that the bills give the corporations a few loopholes and better advantages in court because of their corporate legal teams.
 

Harold Meyer Where do I start! The biggest is PUR (Prior User Rights), which is a proposed defense for patent infringement. It's an inventor's worst nightmare, where a corporation can get the benefits of the patent system by foregoing its disclosure requirements; companies can keep a trade secret and then later use the fact that they have had this 'secret' to slither out of an infringement accusation. Early publication gives countries like Japan the opportunity to file 'cluster' patents on infrastructure and related areas. Expanded re-examination is also a big threat for inventors who are outgunned by corporations in the legal area. Finally, the corporatization of the PTO provision creates more questions and problems, than it does solving anything. There are other problems as well. Like most bills, these are an amalgam of ideas from different sources, and many are half-baked and pose disastrous macro consequences for our community and economy.

Andy Gibbs Please explain 'submarine patents.'

Harold Meyer So called 'submarine patents' don't have to do with the Navy. These are patents that have remained pending and finally issue many years or decades after filing. The cause is for a variety of reasons, including PTO incompetence and exploding development in certain fields (such as microelectronics and lasers). Truthfully, there are extremely few of these patents, only a few hundred out of millions of patents, and this 'problem' isn't even a problem anymore as the switch over in patent terms to 20 years from filing (As opposed to 17 years from issuance) negates the problem anyway. But, what a splendid propaganda opportunity! The bills' proponents have used this spurious 'submarine' argument to try to justify and ram through these awfully flawed bills

Andy Gibbs How many inventors do you know and where do they stand statistically as a group with their position on he legislation?

Harold Meyer Hundreds are known by me. All are against. 100%. I've never seen such unanimity. Well, maybe there's one guy in Peoria who likes it; inventors are independently minded by their very nature, so I suspect somebody likes it. But, I don't know him.
 

Harold Meyer I was, and still am, willing to give testimony. Supposedly, an inventor was hand picked and 'coached' by the bills' proponents on what to say. However, I heard that Joanne Hayes-Rines of Inventors' Digest magazine had a talk with him and informed him of the real situation and the dire consequences of the bills' passage.

Andy Gibbs Jerome Lemelson widely regarded as one the greatest inventors of recent memory, recently passed away. Please give your impressions of him and any related thoughts.

Harold Meyer Jerry Lemelson was an inspiration for us all. I didn't know him personally, but he has really been a role model. He made hundreds of millions of dollars doing what he loved and making our society and economy better. He and his wife were also very generous philanthropists, giving money to MIT and the Smithsonian to endow centers, awards and inventor education programs. The $500,000 Lemelson-MIT prize is the invention equivalent of the Nobel Prize. We need more Jerry Lemelsons!

Andy Gibbs We are hearing that this is now a time of empowerment for inventors. Please tell us why.

Harold Meyer There is a tremendous renaissance. First, second and third, you have the Internet. The Internet was created by inventors. But, we are also its biggest beneficiaries. We have 24 hour access to newsgroups and listservers for interpersonal networking, free online patent searching, free and unlimited email and we can set up our own web pages to transact business in all countries of the globe. It's amazing! Previously only the big companies could afford expensive worldwide advertising. Now everybody has a website! Previously only big companies could afford online databases. Now everybody has them! Previously only big companies could afford fax machines and CAD. Now everybody has them! Plus, corporate downsizing and the aging of the baby boomers have flooded our field with like-minded comrades. The hurdles are now a lot lower for independent inventors and we're forming support groups. Finally, there is a new respect for inventors emerging. I was out in Akron, Ohio this past December and visited Inventure Place, The National Inventors Hall of Fame. What a place! There is no doubt there!

Andy Gibbs What are some of the biggest future issues to be faced by inventors?

Harold Meyer The biggest single problem is the PTO. Their fees are way too high for inventors. For a small entity, the fees over the lifetime of a single patent are over $4000! This just kills most inventors. The PTO also backs the anti-inventor legislation. Last, there have been a large number of scandals there. The PTO really needs better leadership.

Andy Gibbs Hal, thanks!

Harold Meyer Thank you! It's always my pleasure to talk with you, Andy! Keep up the good work!

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