75-07-B1
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Patent Proposals
TranscriptIn the name of energy development, Congress may soon ensure energy stagnation. I'll be right back. The historian Joseph Schumpeter, in explaining the economic rise of the West following the Renaissance, gave the primary credit to one thing: inventions. Inventions have been such a central part of Western society that there's a tendency for many economists to overlook how central they really are to any idea of growth in human history. The great majority of civilizations have been static that is it was taken for granted that the way wealth was accumulated, wars fought and the land cultivated, would remain very much the same from one generation to the next. Many of the most crucial and revolutionary of human inventions, the wheel, cooking, the domestication of animals and crop cultivation, occurred in prehistory for thousands of years. From the beginning of civilization until the Renaissance there were virtually no inventions that revolutionized the daily life of men. With the rise of capitalism this changed. Central to the Western concept of invention, a concept that's bettered the material life of man is the incentive of reward to the private inventor. The government does this by offering patents to the inventor. In my opinion no function of government is more crucial than the granting of patents to men who devise ways to improve our lot. The Founding Fathers gave this function the emphasis it deserves in Article one of the Constitution which gives Congress the power, quote, "To promote the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to inventors the exclusive right to their discoveries." Unquote. Now there's a movement in Congress to abridge, if not eliminate, these rewards for individuals and companies which engage in Federally funded energy research. Let me list some of the ideas that are being mentioned and follow them in each case with the reaction of C. Marshall Dann, Commissioner of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the government agency in charge of awarding patents. In the first proposal all inventions developed through Federally funded research and development would belong to the government with no share for the inventor. Mr. Dann's reaction, quote, "But this tends to discourage participation in government programs by the most competent organizations, the best talents aren't attracted." Unquote. A ban on exclusive licensing of government-owned patents. Mr. Dann says, quote, "This will sometimes mean that the invention will be used by no one." Unquote. A requirement that those taking on government research contract be required to license their privately developed patents and technology in the same field. Mr. Dann again, quote, "This tends to ensure that the most competent and experienced firms won't seek a contract since they've usually invested a great deal of money in acquiring their technology." Unquote. Finally and incredibly compulsory licensing of energy related patents developed with private funds. Mr. Dann notes that this would let competitors share in the benefits and, quote, "Provides a powerful disincentive for any private concern to do any research at all in the energy field." Unquote. Equal rewards for those who fail and those who succeed this will be our energy policy if a single one of these proposals is adopted. When I read or hear of proposals like this I sometimes wonder if man's inventiveness is not matched by his ingenuity at defeating his own purposes. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening. |
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