Pueblo chieftain., 1921-01-30
OUR TOTTERING
PATENT SYSTEM

other company is making the same
kind of a device without a patent, and
if he sues for infringement the COM
pany may be able to prove that it
had been making the article for some
years before the patent was granted.
The patentee, therefore, would probab-
ly find that he had not invented any
thing original after all, that his patent
was invalid and that he could not
maintain his exclusive right to make
the article in question. This is why the
judge said no patent Is a patent until
it has been adjudicated.
Much of this patent litigation could
be dispensed with, if the patent office
systematic basis. For instance. as one
examiner points out, 1t would be quite
possible to comply with the statute
about limiting patents to inventions
that have never been made or used be-
fore-that is to limit patents to real
inventions. He explains that il 1t were
made known that the patent office was
keeping a cataloG of unpatcnted in
ventions. the man who produced new
device would be very apt to send word
to the government so that the date of
, his discovery would be Officially re-
corded. Then, in case of an application
Tor a patent on similar invention,
the existence of the unpatented article
tion of its status could be made.
If the examiners had more time they
could also weed out good inventions
from theoretical nonsense. Ono patent
attorney says that four out of five
things patented now are for worse
ways of doing something that is well
done already. Forty per cent of Iest-
ents applied for are refused. because
the principle involved or the method
of applying the principle is not new.
or because it is obviously imprac-
ticable, or because the invention is of
no possible use. But the average in
vcntor ie a gambler, and he wants
his idea protected even If 1t has only
one chance in thousand of success.
And in this he is often abctted by his
attorney. There are many patent at
torneys who would frankly tell
client that his idea was not worth pro-
tccting. But there arc others who pro-
mote business by encouraging the in
vcntny in the belief that his discovery
is as good as some on which other in
ventors have made fortunes.
One Of these inventions of doubtful
value comes to the examiner skilfully
worked by an attorney so that the
orcticalIy 1t is eligible for a patent. 1t
is found to be new and while it may
not look like IA gold mine in disguise
to the examiner, he has no time to
test its working ability or to compare
il with other devices for the same pur-
pose in use. He knows that there are
few cases where very unpromising in
vcntions have made big successes so he
passes It, and it becomes one more
patent to be thumbed over by search
ers. And the inventor biissfully sinks
his money into It. not realizing that. 1t
/ is u liability rather than an asset.
Some day we may have an indePend
| ont patent department, adequately f.
nanced. and allowed to operate with
thoro- going efficiency. Then there will
be fewer patents granted. less money
wasted on hopeless inventions, and
less uncertainty about when n patent
is not n patent. Meantime. we have
the foundation and a good deal of the
superstructure for an admirable patent
system. Our early statcsmen's plan
for protecting inventors and boosting
industrial progress has worked Won
trcmc financial debility.