A patent myth is loose in the land about their importance to
innovators and those that finance them. In, fact, recently the New York
Times published an op-ed titled “Inventing Our Way Out of Joblessness.”
The authors, Paul R. Michel and Henry R. Nothhaft, argued that the best
way to jump-start our moribund economy was for the United States Patent
and Trademark Office to get through its backlog of patents. Their
premise is that the more patents are granted, the more jobs will be
created in the U.S. Unfortunately, their logic is flawed and biased.
Mr. Michel and Mr. Nothhaft’s claim that “three-fourths of executives
at venture capital-backed startups say patents are vital to getting
financing, according to the 2008 Berkeley Patent Survey” is simply not true.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Want to Create Jobs? Certainly Don’t Rely on the USPTO - Venture Capital Dispatch - WSJ
Author: Jason Mendelson, Paul Kedrosky and Brad Feld
