Political Quotes

“I am here once again to talk about S. 507, the Omnibus Patent Act of 1997. On this date back in 1878, a gentleman named Thaddeus Hyatt was granted a patent for reinforced concrete. Now, 120 years later, the Senate is refusing to reinforce American innovation by failing to take concrete action to reform our nation's patent laws. We are presented with an opportunity that will not soon repeat itself--an opportunity to pass S. 507 and give U.S. inventors longer patent terms, put more royalties in their pockets, save them money in costly patent litigation, and avoid wasting their development resources on duplicative research. At the same time, we can get our new technology more rapidly into the marketplace and make U.S. companies more competitive globally. Remaining globally competitive is not an idle concern. The failure of this body to enact the reforms of our patent system contained in S. 507 has given foreign entities applying for and receiving patents in the U.S. unfair advantages over U.S. firms--advantages that U.S. persons filing and doing business abroad do not have. This ability to keep U.S. inventors in the dark about the latest technological developments does not work to our economic advantage. Why are we turning our backs on our businesses, small and large, by not voting on this bill? I have made recent speeches citing the strong support this legislation has around the country. This legislation has more than just Vermont or any state in mind.…”