The Patent Office

[TastyofHasty]

The system of running all inventions through the patent office to get a patent on same is not so good IMHO ... was reading Seeds of Change by Kenny Ausubel, who wrote:

"As a seed company, we refuse to participate in the process of patenting seeds. All the seeds we produce and sell are open-pollinated. They reproduce true to form, and gardeners can save them for themselves if they so choose. We have offered basic seed-saving tips for gardeners in our catalog. The reason we do this is that the gene pool needs to be held in as many hands as possible for the biological well-being of the planet.

Although Alan Kapuler is a professional plant breeder who could easily patent his inventions, he is opposed to the practice. "Patenting mechanical inventions is one thing, but the plants were here before us. To introduce a new gene or rearrange several genes hardly entitles one to property rights over it. To alter one or two genes out of ten thousand should not constitute ownership for plants that wre here before we stood erect, grabbed a hoe, and began gardening.

There is an interesting concept in the patent business, an obstacle that can prevent the granting of a patent. The term prior art means that the invention was too closely based on an existing entity. Prior art is a very challenging condition for many natural forms, such as plants, making the idea of human ownership patently ridiculous. People did not build the potato, and it is arrogant for plant breeders to think that they did.

...

"Van Gogh loved sunflowers," says Alan brightly. "He painted them again and again. It's amazing that some of the sunflowers that are in van Gogh paintings have been patented by modern seed companies." The best things in life are no longer free, but Alan is working to change that by breeding an exciting new series of sunflowers-- open pollinated hybrids -- that he and Seeds of Change are not going to patent. "The beauty of flowers is a gift to us all," offers Alan.

Mr. Kapuler has a very good point IMHO. "Patenting mechanical inventions is one thing, but . . ." non-mechanical inventions such as plants, enzymes, GMO's, gol darn it!, the gol darned Human Genome Project that is patenting all the stuff they're DISCOVERING (not INVENTING) about human genes ... all this is HIGHWAY ROBBERY of EVERYBODY ELSE. Thank God other countries can create things that are not discovered and patented around here in THIS CRAZY USA before other people learn to use, and DO use them. And how does the average Joe who invents something deal with it? Spend $50,000 getting a patent? Then fight all the people who ignore it? It all goes back to LAWYERS!!!!! ARRRRGGGHHHHH. It is too expensive for any but the RICH to patent stuff & the RICH get richer etc. And one problem we are supposedly having with China & other countries is "intellectual property." Well ... good for the CHINESE, I say!!! Go for it! The Miss Piggy type who patents a plant or human gene or enzyme may bend over BEETHOVEN for all I'm gonna care or try to fight for 'em.

Steps down ...