The IEEE’s new policy will arbitrarily reduce the level of protection given to Wi-Fi-related patents, impose unconstitutional limits on patent rights, and end the traditional market-based negotiation process for these patents by imposing what amounts to de facto compulsory licensing. Companies that spent many years and billions of dollars in R&D to develop Wi-Fi and other technologies could find themselves unable to recoup their investments.
“The first rule of any patent legislation should be to do no harm, particularly to the inventors, start-ups and universities that create our nation’s next big fundamental technology breakthroughs that drive GDP and job growth,” said inventor Earl “Eb” Bright, COO ExploraMed and Board member USIJ. “The Senate has an opportunity to get this right and I hope they seize it – our standing as a global leader is directly dependent on the strength of our patent system and its ability to support innovative enterprises of all sizes.”