Northern Kentucky Tribune: Commentary: Protect innovation by safeguarding patents; oppose two bills currently in Congress, by Kyle Keeney
This post originally appeared in Northern Kentucky Tribune on October 23, 2015.
As we start to wrap-up 2015 with an eye towards the 2016 elections, our lawmakers will take up several issues that are important to the future of our nation’s economy and healthcare innovation.
Kentucky’s innovators are carefully watching two pieces of legislation pending in Congress that stand to dramatically alter a U.S. patent system that has served our country well for over 200 years.
The Kentucky Life Science Council and the life science companies that are growing the local economy would like to encourage Sen. Mitch McConnell and the Kentucky delegation to support our universities and start-up community by voting against the Innovation Act (H.R. 9) and the PATENT Act (S. 1137).
For generations, the safeguards found in our patent system have incentivized innovation by shielding the valuable ideas and products of patent holders. In fact, the property rights patent holders enjoy are enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. These constitutional rights are the driving force behind the work of innovators – work that in many cases lasts several years or even a lifetime and would likely never occur if not for the defenses found in our country’s defining document.