Marcy Kaptur: “Yes. And you know at this time in this country, where it is hard to find a good paying job, it is really very hard, some…”

“Yes. And you know at this time in this country, where it is hard to find a good paying job, it is really very hard, some of these companies that are trying to weaken our patent system actually pay their staffs less than companies that are in communities like I represent, where people earn a living wage. These companies also outsource a lot of jobs related to component manufacture and so forth. I find it interesting that they have so much power and they have so much influence that now they are trying to, in a way, take away the potential for districts like mine to reinvent themselves by protecting those who are creating new ideas. In fact, they want to get rid of this opt-out provision, where if you are a small inventor and you file as first-to-invent at the Patent Office, you have a choice whether you want foreign entities to be able to see that invention now. They have this opt-out provision, where you protect yourself before you are able to get the approval and try to get the money to manufacture or provide the service that you want to provide. This will make it very difficult. About half of the inventions that we have come from small businesses, universities and independent inventors who select that opt-out provision.”