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| Inventor urges patent law change | |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| A major British inventor is calling for a change in the law to strengthen protection against those who try to steal ideas. | |
| Trevor Baylis, who invented the wind-up radio, has written to the business secretary urging him to criminalise the theft of intellectual property. | Trevor Baylis, who invented the wind-up radio, has written to the business secretary urging him to criminalise the theft of intellectual property. |
| The move would involve a fundamental change to the law on patents. | The move would involve a fundamental change to the law on patents. |
| Currently, inventors have to sue those they believe have stolen their idea through the civil courts. | Currently, inventors have to sue those they believe have stolen their idea through the civil courts. |
| Patent process | Patent process |
| Inventors who want to stop others copying their ideas can go to the UK Intellectual Property Office (formerly the Patent Office) and take out a patent. | Inventors who want to stop others copying their ideas can go to the UK Intellectual Property Office (formerly the Patent Office) and take out a patent. |
| But that's expensive for lone inventors without corporate backing: among other costs, the services of a specialised patent attorney will set an applicant back at least £2,500. | But that's expensive for lone inventors without corporate backing: among other costs, the services of a specialised patent attorney will set an applicant back at least £2,500. |
| I believe that UK plc should stand behind those courageous individuals whose ideas can change all our lives both commercially and socially Trevor Baylis | I believe that UK plc should stand behind those courageous individuals whose ideas can change all our lives both commercially and socially Trevor Baylis |
| And patents enjoy protection only under civil law: a patent-holder who believes their idea has been ripped off must themselves sue for compensation through the civil courts. | And patents enjoy protection only under civil law: a patent-holder who believes their idea has been ripped off must themselves sue for compensation through the civil courts. |
| "If I was to nick your car, which is worth £10,000, say, I could go to jail," Trevor Baylis told the BBC. | "If I was to nick your car, which is worth £10,000, say, I could go to jail," Trevor Baylis told the BBC. |
| "But if I were to knick your patent, which is worth a million pounds, you'd have to sue me. | "But if I were to knick your patent, which is worth a million pounds, you'd have to sue me. |
| "And if I was a colossal company, or indeed another country, that had stolen your invention, how could you find a million pounds a day to take me to court?" | "And if I was a colossal company, or indeed another country, that had stolen your invention, how could you find a million pounds a day to take me to court?" |
| The answer, he says, is to make stealing a patent a criminal offence - just as it's already a criminal offence to steal copyright from creative people like authors and musicians. | The answer, he says, is to make stealing a patent a criminal offence - just as it's already a criminal offence to steal copyright from creative people like authors and musicians. |
| That way the state, not the individual inventor, would bear the costs of going to court. | That way the state, not the individual inventor, would bear the costs of going to court. |
| "I believe that theft of intellectual property rights should be treated as a white collar crime," he says in his letter to Lord Mandelson. | "I believe that theft of intellectual property rights should be treated as a white collar crime," he says in his letter to Lord Mandelson. |
| "I believe that UK plc should stand behind those courageous individuals whose ideas can change all our lives both commercially and socially." | "I believe that UK plc should stand behind those courageous individuals whose ideas can change all our lives both commercially and socially." |
| Honest, decent people running reputable businesses infringe patents. They might not know the patent exists, or their patent attorney might have told them it was valid or infringed Member of Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys | Honest, decent people running reputable businesses infringe patents. They might not know the patent exists, or their patent attorney might have told them it was valid or infringed Member of Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys |
| Mr Baylis, who lives in an eccentric house-cum-workshop which he built himself on Eel Pie Island, in the middle of the River Thames off Twickenham, says he has the support of the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of his local MP, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable. | Mr Baylis, who lives in an eccentric house-cum-workshop which he built himself on Eel Pie Island, in the middle of the River Thames off Twickenham, says he has the support of the Federation of Small Businesses, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and of his local MP, the Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman Vince Cable. |
| In 2002 Mr Cable introduced a private member's bill which increased the penalties for copyright theft from a maximum of two years to 10 years imprisonment. | In 2002 Mr Cable introduced a private member's bill which increased the penalties for copyright theft from a maximum of two years to 10 years imprisonment. |
| Patent theft, he says now, "is just part of life" and tougher action needs to be taken to stamp it out. | Patent theft, he says now, "is just part of life" and tougher action needs to be taken to stamp it out. |
| But the defenders of the present system say changing the law may not be the right answer. | But the defenders of the present system say changing the law may not be the right answer. |
| Patents can be extremely complex things and the criminal law is simply too blunt an instrument to use when disputes arise. | Patents can be extremely complex things and the criminal law is simply too blunt an instrument to use when disputes arise. |
| Peter Jackson is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys. | Peter Jackson is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys. |
| "First of all you've got to decide whether the patent covers the thing properly." he says. | "First of all you've got to decide whether the patent covers the thing properly." he says. |
| "And having done that you've got to decide whether what the alleged infringer is up to falls within that strict wording. | "And having done that you've got to decide whether what the alleged infringer is up to falls within that strict wording. |
| "That can take days and weeks and months of deliberation by highly skilled lawyers, and I'm not sure the criminal system is well-suited to that kind of action." | "That can take days and weeks and months of deliberation by highly skilled lawyers, and I'm not sure the criminal system is well-suited to that kind of action." |
| Other members of the institute are more forthright. | Other members of the institute are more forthright. |
| One calls the idea of criminalising patent infringement "barking mad". | One calls the idea of criminalising patent infringement "barking mad". |
| Another says the parallel with copyright protection is not as close as it might appear: "Patent infringement is not remotely like flogging knock-off CDs. | Another says the parallel with copyright protection is not as close as it might appear: "Patent infringement is not remotely like flogging knock-off CDs. |
| "Honest, decent people running reputable businesses infringe patents. They might not know the patent exists, or their patent attorney might have told them it was valid or infringed." | "Honest, decent people running reputable businesses infringe patents. They might not know the patent exists, or their patent attorney might have told them it was valid or infringed." |
| And patent attorneys say criminalisation might have a "chilling" effect on innovation, by forcing a patent-holder's rivals to "play safe" for fear of committing a criminal offence. | And patent attorneys say criminalisation might have a "chilling" effect on innovation, by forcing a patent-holder's rivals to "play safe" for fear of committing a criminal offence. |
| Instead they point to the mediation service run by the Intellectual Property Office as an alternative to costly legal action. | Instead they point to the mediation service run by the Intellectual Property Office as an alternative to costly legal action. |