In these pages, we hope to spark discussion and improve understanding about how the U.S. patent system nourishes the U.S. economy, and how America’s long-term economic health depends upon maintaining a strong patent system that supports innovative enterprises of all sizes and business models.
 
America is the most innovative economy in the world, but that’s not something we can take for granted.  There are a variety of reasons why America as a whole is so innovative – our stable political system, our national character, and also without question our patent system, a cornerstone of an innovation ecosystem in the United States regarded with envy by the rest of the world.
 
America’s respect for patents, rooted in the U.S. Constitution, has served our country well for centuries.  Yet there are those who would seek to change our system to lessen the value due patents and make them easier and cheaper to infringe.  They are generally large incumbent companies that were created, grew, and prospered under the current system, but who now seek to change the law to benefit themselves and disadvantage competitors, to the detriment of the system as a whole.
 
The truth is that there is nothing wrong with our current patent laws.  Americans continue to innovate at a feverish pace, and we continue to lead the world in innovation.
 
What we should be talking about is the one thing that unites all players in the U.S. innovation ecosystem, large and small and everyone in between – how to get the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office the resources it needs to operate more effectively and reduce the time it takes to secure a U.S. patent.  Underfunded and understaffed, the USPTO fights heroically against a backlog of over 700,000 patent applications awaiting review, each one of which represents a possible new company employing Americans in America.
 
There is no stimulus package that could offer the same potential bang for the taxpayer buck as a well-funded, efficient, and speedy USPTO.  There is no better way to engage the genius of the U.S. innovation ecosystem and the machinery of the U.S. private enterprise system than to get patents into the hands of innovators as quickly as possible.
 
The Innovation Alliance is hosting a conference to explore and highlight the connections between patents, innovation, and job creation in Washington, DC on Friday, January 21, 2011.  We invite you to attend and participate. 
 
Thank you.  We at the Innovation Alliance look forward to continuing this conversation.
 
Brian Pomper
Executive Director
Innovation Alliance