The Grange advance., 1874-02-14
Patent Rights.
ever forget

Patent Rights.
Mr.. Brown Of Scott, county, introduced
in the House of Representatives joint res
olution, asking Congress to repeal the pres
ent patent right laws, and abandon the
system of allowing inventors patent rights,
for the exclusive manufacture of their in
ventions, but in the place thereof, to pay
every inventor ga just and reasonable COM
pensation for his implement or device,
and thereupon allow every one who chooses
to do so, to manufacture and sell the same.
without paying anything for the right.
This measure has some merits, and some
demerits, and we will point out few OF
them without at this time advocating or op-
posing the resolution, because any measure
seeking to make such radical change in
long established laws should be most thor
oughly and maturely considered before it
is acted upon.
In the first place it is an admitted fact
that the people of this country have not
only been humbugged, but they have been
robbed of enormous sums under the opera
ion Of the present patent right laws, and
that change Of some kind is absolutely de-
manded.
We have seen that under the present sys-
TEN it frequently happens that when: the
inventor has spent many long weary years
Of toil-sometimes almost lifd time-in
perfecting great invention, and 81 ient every
dollar he has in the world, ad al]f could
beg and borrow from friends and reIRtive; ),
and when he is at last ready to manufa cture
he is utterly unable to do SO for wjht Of
funds, and if he would any benefit
whatever from his long and arduous labors
he must throw himself and his invention
upon the tender mercies of wealthy manu-.
facturers. They dictate to him the terms
upon which they will put his machine or
device into the market. Very often these
terms include the assignment Of the patent
right to the manufacturer. Thus it happens
that in years afterwards, when the original
inventor is dragging out life Of abject pow
erty and obscurity, or perhaps dying in a
Poor House, the manufacturers who have
made their tens of thousands out of his in.
vention 60 to Congress and by placing q
small per oentage of their gains where il
will do the most good, get the patent right
extended, and then 90 on robbiug the people
after they have robbed the poor inventor.
Mr.. Browns resolution would save such
men as these from becoming the prey Of
wealthy and rapacious manufacturers. II
would give him ga just and reasonable
compensation in cash for his invention as
soon as it was perfected, or at least it would
seek to do this.
But there are serious difficulties to be
overcome in making such law effective
and successful in attaining the objects
sought. How is Congress to know OF %.
certain what is .'just and reasonable
compensation for ths invention. It seems
to us impossible for Congress to learn what
its value is until it has been worked snd
tested. More than this, it very rarely oc'
ours that an invention is worth much when
first manufactured. No matter how great,
or ingenious the principle may bd. it re.
quires time and experience to nike it thor,
oughly efficient and useful, after is put
into working order. II viii require : little
change here, and alittle improIe,.s4t there
to bring it to perfection, The inventor
should not only be paid for 10 value Of hi,
ihvention at the time he first gets it int.
practical form, but he should also receive I
inst compensation for it whom perfected s,
time and experience, and this is ver,,
dihkcult matter to arrive at. 'a5
There will also DO the ohisction to thi'
lplaa that it viii esablslnsn 81 means o
>yeritisn, or i.hlns,tial friends q sqnss
thing vorse, to ct p.aly p.l fer inventions thal
Are really 81 no valuo Whatever. Man,
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