Letter: ‘Too balanced in unbalanced situation' (Printed Feb. 1, 2008)
Editor:
Too Balanced in an Unbalanced Situation
I wanted to thank the Scarborough Leader for taking the time to understand the details of the Patent “Reform” Act (Jan. 18 edition) which is pending a Senate vote, and if passed, takes away the ability of inventors to protect their patents.
In an effort to be balanced, the article presents the supporter’s position, which should be mentioned, but I hope the readers took the time to go beyond the first few paragraphs. The problem with reporting in a balanced way is that it may imply balance and the situation is not balanced at all.
The HR 1908 bill, now in the US Senate as S.1145, is catastrophic for American innovation, since it narrows the definition of patent infringement; and so greatly softens the penalties so that it pays to infringe.
How would you feel if the government told you that your neighbor could take your house and property? That is going to be the outcome of this proposed law change. It’s OK for your neighbor to take your house and car as long as they have more money than you do!
This is one of many symptoms that describe the shift in recent years in American policy to appease the big corporations that can fund political campaigns, hire lobbyists, and afford teams of lawyers. The US constitution was not designed for mega corporation, and it’s being shredded by the greed of the mega corp.
For these corporations (Microsoft, AT&T, HP, etc) to set up a website called “patent fairness” is disingenuous at best. The information on this site is spun so much that it’s better to call it creative writing
How can HP, a company started in a garage by Hewlett and Packard with nothing but intellectual property (patents), sleep at night, when they are aiming to destroy the very protection that allowed them to be a company?!
Where is the reaction that shows this injustice and the profound damage this will do to American innovation? If the effort in reporting is always to be balanced and explain the positions of each side, then the public will never have the understanding of how unbalanced a situation can be.
Ian Engelman
Scarborough
Too Balanced in an Unbalanced Situation
I wanted to thank the Scarborough Leader for taking the time to understand the details of the Patent “Reform” Act (Jan. 18 edition) which is pending a Senate vote, and if passed, takes away the ability of inventors to protect their patents.
In an effort to be balanced, the article presents the supporter’s position, which should be mentioned, but I hope the readers took the time to go beyond the first few paragraphs. The problem with reporting in a balanced way is that it may imply balance and the situation is not balanced at all.
The HR 1908 bill, now in the US Senate as S.1145, is catastrophic for American innovation, since it narrows the definition of patent infringement; and so greatly softens the penalties so that it pays to infringe.
How would you feel if the government told you that your neighbor could take your house and property? That is going to be the outcome of this proposed law change. It’s OK for your neighbor to take your house and car as long as they have more money than you do!
This is one of many symptoms that describe the shift in recent years in American policy to appease the big corporations that can fund political campaigns, hire lobbyists, and afford teams of lawyers. The US constitution was not designed for mega corporation, and it’s being shredded by the greed of the mega corp.
For these corporations (Microsoft, AT&T, HP, etc) to set up a website called “patent fairness” is disingenuous at best. The information on this site is spun so much that it’s better to call it creative writing
How can HP, a company started in a garage by Hewlett and Packard with nothing but intellectual property (patents), sleep at night, when they are aiming to destroy the very protection that allowed them to be a company?!
Where is the reaction that shows this injustice and the profound damage this will do to American innovation? If the effort in reporting is always to be balanced and explain the positions of each side, then the public will never have the understanding of how unbalanced a situation can be.
Ian Engelman
Scarborough
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