CLEARWATER, Fla., Sept. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- American inventors from all walks of life will be rallying in six U.S. cities on Thursday, September 16, 2021 to shine a spotlight on the America Invents Act of 2011 (AIA). "Signed into law on that day 10 years ago, the AIA has nullified the rights and stolen the dreams of thousands of independent inventors and startups while enriching Big Tech and multi-national conglomerates through the establishment of an administrative tribunal called the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB), also known as the Patent Death Squad," says inventor rights advocacy group US Inventor.
Inventors participating in the group's Decade of Stolen Dreams rally - many whose lives and businesses "have been unjustly destroyed by PTAB rulings" according to US Inventor, will gather along with supporters and make their voices heard in front of USPTO regional offices in Alexandria, VA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, Detroit, MI, and San Jose, CA, as well as from the main Vermont office of Senator Patrick Leahy, the bill's principal sponsor. (For rally times, addresses, and additional information please see http://usinventor.org/rally-media)
"The PTAB was sold to Congress as an easier and faster but fair alternative to litigation in district court for patent disputes," says US Inventor Policy Director Josh Malone. "However, what it became instead was a powerful tool that a large infringer could use to challenge the validity of any small inventor's patent in order to use the inventor's technology royalty-free, or to prevent the inventor's disruptive technology from competing in the marketplace."
Malone says that when patents are reviewed by the PTAB, they are invalidated 84% of the time. Even if the inventor survives a challenge and gets to keep their patent, the big company can request another PTAB hearing on a separate issue. Each attack on a patent costs the inventor hundreds of thousands of dollars to defend against. When a small inventor lacks the funds to defend their patent in a PTAB hearing, they are often left with no other option than to give up their patent and walk away to cut losses. Even Chinese companies tied to the CCP, like ZTE, Huawei, and TikTok, are using the PTAB to invalidate the patents of Americans and take their technologies.
"Our Founding Fathers felt that patent rights were so important that they guaranteed them in the Constitution," says Malone. "Article 1 Section 8 charges Congress with the duty to protect the rights of inventors. It was the first time in history that a government was authorized to protect patents as a property right. For over two centuries, the innovation of inventors, protected by that right, helped fuel the American economy and assisted a countless number of citizens to achieve the American Dream."
"As we approach the ten-year anniversary of the AIA, there are now thousands of inventors whose dreams have been crushed and whose businesses have been destroyed -- and it's happening at an increasing rate and it's not getting better. This is not the way the patent system is supposed to work. The American Invents Act needs to be fixed."
ABOUT JOSH MALONE – POLICY DIRECTOR US INVENTOR
Josh Malone quit his corporate job in 2006 to take his shot at the Inventor's Dream. Eight years later, savings depleted and kids college unfunded, he took one last swing before trudging back to the corporate world. And hit a home-run with Bunch O Balloons. His solution to the 63-year-old problem of filling and sealing water balloons instantly became the number one selling summer toy. His invention was stolen by a notorious serial infringer who convinced the USPTO to revoke his patent under a controversial procedure of the 2011 America Invents Act. A brutal and costly legal battle combined with an anti-corruption crusade ultimately resulted in a $31M award and restoration of his patent rights. He is now a full-time volunteer with the inventor advocacy organization US Inventor.
ABOUT US INVENTOR (http://www.usinventor.org)
Inventor rights advocacy group US Inventor brings together the best and brightest innovators of today to help the best and brightest innovators of tomorrow. Our current mission is to restore the right of an inventor to stop the theft of his or her patented invention by any corporation, no matter how powerful. We also teach and promote the invention process and business methods involved in developing an idea, making a profit, and changing lives.
Decade of Stolen Dreams Inventor Rally - September 16, 2021
Alexandria, VA – 4:00 p.m. Burlington, VT – 4:00 p.m.
Eastern Regional USPTO Senator Patrick Leahy office
600 Dulany Main Street 199 Main Street
Dallas, TX – 10:00 a.m. Denver, CO – 4:00 p.m.
Texas Regional USPTO Rocky Mountain Regional USPTO
207 South Houston Street 1961 Stout Street
Detroit, MI – 4:00 p.m. San Jose, CA – 4:00 p.m.
Midwest Regional USPTO Silicon Valley USPTO
300 River Place Drive 26 South Fourth Street
NOTE TO PRODUCERS: Individual inventors scheduled to speak and available for interviews are listed at http://www.usinventor.org/rally-media
Media Contact
Jordan Lee, US Inventor, 727-977-8580, [email protected]
SOURCE US Inventor
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