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4 Tex. Rev. L. & Pol. 95 (1999-2000)
Patent Law's Impact on Invention and Innovation

handle is hein.journals/trlp4 and id is 107 raw text is: PATENT LAW'S IMPACT ON INVENTION AND INNOVATION ROBERT C. DEAN, JR.* I am a small-time inventor and innovator who has several patents.! I wish to give you my viewpoint, as an inventor, of the value of the U.S. patent system. Misconceptions are common about where important inventions come from and about the actual processes of invention and innovation. So, I want to take a moment first to address two issues: (i) what the invention/innovation process looks like and how long it takes, and (ii) where watershed inventions come from. By watershed inventions, I mean those inventions which changed society and have made a discernible and. significant difference in Man's abilities and how he lives. Some examples of watershed inventions are the airplane, xerography, genetic engineering, the birth control pill and the transistor. All these inventions have had a major impact on society. Often, we get confused because there are tens of thousands of patents submitted to the Patent Office every year. But among those raw statistics, only a handful, or even only one or two, will become watershed inventions. I am concerned about whether our patent system protects the sources of watershed inventions. The first issue of importance is the length of time it takes for an invention to reach the marketplace. The Department of * Inventor and founder of seven companies that manufacture various health care and diagnostic products. 1. U.S. Patent No. 2,951,706 (Percussively Operated Tool--September 1960). U.S. Patent No. 3,060,894 (Rock Drill--October 30, 1962). U.S. Patent No. 3,605,843 (Cashew Nut Sheller-September 1971). U.S. Patent No. 3,641,308 (Plasma Arc Torch Having Liquid Laminar Flow Jet for Arc Constriction-February 8, 1972). U.S. Patent Nos. 4,861,714; 4,863,856; 4,997,753; 5,100,783 (Weighted Collagen Microsponge for Immobilizing Bioreactive Materials-1989-1992). U.S. Patent No. 4,978,616 (Fluidized Cell Cultivation Process--December 18, 1990). U.S. Patent Nos. 5,019,270; 5,228,989; 5,384,042; 5,833,861 (Perfusive Chromatography-1991-1998). U.S. Patent No. 5,597,497 (Switch Mechanism for Operating a Plasma Arc Torch, Other Tools or Weapons--January 28, 1997). 2. See infra Table 1.

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