[Ecommerce] White House Position on Internet patents

[James Love]

I just ran across the White House paper on global electronic commerce. 
It says that the US is pushing internationally for treaties that will
stop countries from issuing complusory licenses on ecommerce patents,
except as a remedy to an antitrust case.  Plus, it says the US will ask
for a special committee to be formed on these issues by the US, EU and
Japan patent examiners, and separately, that WIPO have a working group
on this.  I think this has already happened.  I'm meeting with USTR
tomorrow, and will ask about this.

Jamie


http://www.ecommerce.gov/framewrk.htm
A Framework for Global Electronic Commerce 

 THE WHITE HOUSE 
 July 1, 1997 

<---------------------Section on Patents-------------------->

Patents

Development of the GII will both depend upon and stimulate innovation in
many fields of technology, including computer software, computer
hardware, and telecommunications. An effectively functioning patent
system that encourages and protects patentable innovations in these
fields is important for the overall success of commerce over the
Internet. Consistent with this objective, the U.S. Patent and Trademark
Office (PTO) will (1) significantly enhance its collaboration with the
private sector to assemble a larger, more complete collection of prior
art (both patent and non-patent publications), and provide its patent
examiners better access to prior art in GII-related technologies; (2)
train its patent examiners in GII-related technologies to raise and
maintain their level of technical expertise; and (3) support legislative
proposals for early publication of pending patent applications,
particularly in areas involving fast moving technology. 

To create a reliable environment for electronic commerce, patent
agreements should: 

     prohibit member countries from authorizing parties to exploit
patented inventions related to the GII without the patent owner's
authority (i.e., disapproval of compulsory licensing of GII-related
technology except to remedy a practice determined after judicial or
administrative process to be anti-competitive);

require member countries to provide adequate and effective protection
for patentable subject matter important to the development and success
of the GII; and establish international standards for determining the
validity of a patent claim. 

The United States will pursue these objectives internationally.
Officials of the European, Japanese, and United States Patent Offices
meet, for example, each year to foster cooperation on patent-related
issues. The United States will recommend at the next meeting that a
special committee be established within the next year to make
recommendations on GII-related patent issues . 

In a separate venue, one hundred countries and international
intergovernmental organizations participate as members of WIPO's
permanent committee on industrial property information (PCIPI). The
United States will attempt to establish a working group of this
organization to address GII-related patent issues. 




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James Love, Director           | http://www.cptech.org
Consumer Project on Technology | mailto:love@cptech.org 
P.O. Box 19367                 | voice: 1.202.387.8030
Washington, DC 20036           | fax:   1.202.234.5176
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