Buzz Archive:
Is Microsoft Fixing Or Breaking The U.S. Patent System?

by Jeff Hunt, Raymond Ibon and Dennis Fernandez, 2/21/2008

Led by Microsoft, a group of large U.S. computer technology and financial services companies calling themselves the "Coalition for Patent Fairness" is making unprecedented efforts to "reform" the established U.S. Patent system and fix perceived problems. Last year, the Coalition sent a letter to Congress requesting enactment of specific reforms that would dramatically weaken the rights of patent holders and transform patent litigation into a limited exercise before special courts dominated, no doubt, by judges friendly to large corporate defendants. Leaders of other industries, representing the vast majority of U.S. research spending and economic output, are conspicuously absent from Microsoft's tight-knit group.

Despite much hype about "reform", the fact that most leading research-driven companies and universities in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and healthcare remain silent on the group's reform efforts suggests that proposed changes do not favor their interests. This begs the question: "Is Microsoft and the Coalition for Patent Fairness really fixing or breaking the established U.S. Patent System?"