PERA is key to medical innovation

3. How has the current state of patent eligibility directly impacted the development of new medical technologies? Can you provide specific examples where patent eligibility issues have hindered innovation?

There is no question in my mind as to whether the current state of patent eligibility has diminished innovation. I addressed this with specific examples in my answer to Question 1. I also know that there have been significant shifts in the types of invention that attract venture capital and other investors, and I can say unequivocally that weaknesses in the patent system have diminished both the number of entrepreneurs and the number of investors willing to assume the risk of longer term development projects. Creating a new technology requires both dedicated entrepreneurs and dedicated investors, both of whom may be motivated by the desire of benefitting other people and their nation, but both nevertheless need to be able to justify the expenditure of human resources and capital to support the effort. This in a nutshell is what patents provide, and without it, these entrepreneurs and investors are likely to pursue other activities.

One variable and unknown factor in this discussion is the extent to which the entrepreneurial and investor communities are fully aware of how confused the state of law is and how difficult it may be to prevent large incumbents stealing what they invent. The implication of that question is that the longer it takes to correct the patent system, the worse the shift away from strategically critical industries is likely to become. Given the reality that our nation is not keeping up with some of our competitor nations in innovation, such as China and Germany, the urgency of getting a stronger patent regime is more and more palpable.