February 1, 2005 (Vol. 25, No. 3)

URL:
http://www.eff.org/patent

Rating:
Strong Points: Important topic
Weak Points: A bit one-sided

Summary:
Biotechnology is a patent-intensive industry, supported strongly by the system which encourages research with the reward of protection for an invention for up to 20 years. That’s all fine and dandy on paper, but in practice, the issuing of patents is anything but a science (or even consistent). As noted on the opening page of this rather aggressive site, nothing less than the Federal Trade Commission is getting in the act to find a proper balance between innovation and patent law/policy. There is considerable concern in the areas of computing and software development, for example, that frivolous or improperly issued patents may significantly stifle the next generation of computing. Yikes! Now that’s serious.

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