MRI vendor Fonar of Melville, NY, bought a full-page ad in the October 9 edition of the New York Times to protest proposed legislation to reform U.S. patent law.
The ad opposes the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (S. 1148 and H.R. 1908), which would change U.S. patent law in a number of ways. Fonar in particular objects to several provisions in the bill, including the following:
- A change that enables patents to be granted to the person who files the patent, rather than the inventor.
- A provision that enables the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to make public a patent application 18 months after it's been filed, regardless of whether the patent has been granted.
- A provision that changes the way damages for patent infringement are calculated: Damages would be assessed based on the incremental value a patent adds to a product, rather than the current system of assessing damages based on the overall value of the patent and the loss caused to the inventor by the infringement.
Fonar spokesperson Dan Culver said that, if passed, the legislation would hurt small companies like Fonar that are able to remain competitive with larger firms due to their patent portfolio. Fonar in the late 1990s waged a successful battle to secure patent infringement judgments and royalty payments from other MRI vendors for patents invented by founder Dr. Raymond Damadian.
"Dr. Damadian was only able to start Fonar in 1978 because he had a patent to offer people to invest in that fledgling company," Culver said. "That will disappear for future companies (if the legislation is passed)."
By AuntMinnie.com staff writers
October 11, 2007
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Fonar initiates reverse stock split, April 18, 2007
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