Republicans have been in control of both ends of Capitol Hill for nearly four months and one would be hard-pressed to notice any change. Apart from votes on Keystone and overtures to tax reform most lawmakers have adopted a status quo business as usual attitude. Its frustrating but not entirely unpredictable.
In the innovation sector however some Republicans have cozied up to Obamas campaign contributors and to big business and have sold out small inventors and entrepreneurs by embracing a proposed overhaul of the U.S. patent system.
The so-called Innovation Act is a gift to large multi-national tech giants seeking to weaken the intellectual property rights found in our Constitution. And rather than speak up against this monstrosity many conservatives have embraced what I believe is the equivalent of Obamacare for innovation.
Tomorrow members of the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on this legislation as they try to move forward in pushing through revisions to our patent system which our Founding Fathers included in the Constitution. Unfortunately many of my fellow Republicans are helping to lead the charge for this legislation that I and many conservatives legal experts and inventors believe will undermine this fundamental protection of our property rights.
Im sure the opportunity to get cozy with the deep pockets in Silicon Valley has some allure to conservative politicians seeking to advance their political careers. But at what cost? Need I remind you that many of the companies and people pushing for this reform" were instrumental in electing and re-electing Barack Obama?
Conservatives are now bowing at the altar of big business and embracing cronyism at the expense of innovators and property rights and they are doing it under the guise of helping American innovation but nothing could be further from the truth. Unfortunately it seems the more things change the more they stay the same.
With former executives of this legislations biggest beneficiaries (Google for example) now stationed throughout the Administration its no wonder the White House supports a giant patent overhaul. Doing the bidding of powerful companies in such a way will come at a price to small inventors who will have harder time defending their Intellectual Property and in attracting capital. This legislation makes it more difficult for them to protect their ideas and therefore to innovate.
Some conservatives say they are supporting this bill because its a form of tort reform. This is not tort reform. In the area of intellectual property the only recourse small inventors have to protect their ideas from being stolen are the courts. Constitutional conservatives understand that we cannot make it harder or nearly impossible for Americans to defend their property rights.
Like most big government solutions (remember Obamacare and Dodd-Frank?) big businesses are leading the charge because they benefit. As Carly Fiorina the former chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard pointed out watch carefully who is supporting that legislation. Its not the small its the big. Its the big companies whose ongoing economic benefit depends upon their ability to acquire innovations and patents at a lower cost."
The big boys will do just fine after the next comprehensive reform but What options will small inventors have?
To say Im disturbed by how eager some conservatives on Capitol Hill are to rush into support for legislation like this and cozy up to big business at the expense of American innovation is an understatement. Simply put the rationale for this legislation is unsupported by reality.
Nothing good can come from quick big government fixes implemented at the behest of big business.
Ken Blackwell a contributing editor at Townhall.com is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and the American Civil Rights Union and is on the board of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He is the co-author of the bestseller The Blueprint: Obamas Plan to
Republicans have been in control of both ends of Capitol Hill for nearly four months and one would be hard-pressed to notice any change. Apart from votes on Keystone and overtures to tax reform most lawmakers have adopted a status quo business as usual attitude. Its frustrating but not entirely unpredictable.
In the innovation sector however some Republicans have cozied up to Obamas campaign contributors and to big business and have sold out small inventors and entrepreneurs by embracing a proposed overhaul of the U.S. patent system.
The so-called Innovation Act is a gift to large multi-national tech giants seeking to weaken the intellectual property rights found in our Constitution. And rather than speak up against this monstrosity many conservatives have embraced what I believe is the equivalent of Obamacare for innovation.
Tomorrow members of the House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on this legislation as they try to move forward in pushing through revisions to our patent system which our Founding Fathers included in the Constitution. Unfortunately many of my fellow Republicans are helping to lead the charge for this legislation that I and many conservatives legal experts and inventors believe will undermine this fundamental protection of our property rights.
Im sure the opportunity to get cozy with the deep pockets in Silicon Valley has some allure to conservative politicians seeking to advance their political careers. But at what cost? Need I remind you that many of the companies and people pushing for this reform" were instrumental in electing and re-electing Barack Obama?
Conservatives are now bowing at the altar of big business and embracing cronyism at the expense of innovators and property rights and they are doing it under the guise of helping American innovation but nothing could be further from the truth. Unfortunately it seems the more things change the more they stay the same.
With former executives of this legislations biggest beneficiaries (Google for example) now stationed throughout the Administration its no wonder the White House supports a giant patent overhaul. Doing the bidding of powerful companies in such a way will come at a price to small inventors who will have harder time defending their Intellectual Property and in attracting capital. This legislation makes it more difficult for them to protect their ideas and therefore to innovate.
Some conservatives say they are supporting this bill because its a form of tort reform. This is not tort reform. In the area of intellectual property the only recourse small inventors have to protect their ideas from being stolen are the courts. Constitutional conservatives understand that we cannot make it harder or nearly impossible for Americans to defend their property rights.
Like most big government solutions (remember Obamacare and Dodd-Frank?) big businesses are leading the charge because they benefit. As Carly Fiorina the former chairwoman of Hewlett-Packard pointed out watch carefully who is supporting that legislation. Its not the small its the big. Its the big companies whose ongoing economic benefit depends upon their ability to acquire innovations and patents at a lower cost."
The big boys will do just fine after the next comprehensive reform but What options will small inventors have?
To say Im disturbed by how eager some conservatives on Capitol Hill are to rush into support for legislation like this and cozy up to big business at the expense of American innovation is an understatement. Simply put the rationale for this legislation is unsupported by reality.
Nothing good can come from quick big government fixes implemented at the behest of big business.
Ken Blackwell a contributing editor at Townhall.com is a senior fellow at the Family Research Council and the American Civil Rights Union and is on the board of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. He is the co-author of the bestseller The Blueprint: Obamas Plan to
