Patently Not Obvious

Regular readers of this blog will know that I have an instinctive suspicion of organisations that try to co-opt weasel words. And now we have not one such group, but three of them:

Coalition for Patent Fairness

Innovation Alliance

Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform

I couldn't even begin to parse all the subtle biases and hidden agendas going on here (this post takes a stab).

But what's most interesting, of course, is that whatever the position, we're talking about patents here. Suddenly, patent reform is hot in the US, which means there's a hope - just a glimmer - of some sense being brought to the seriously broken PTO there (and if you want further proof of why it isn't working try this excellent piece about patent thickets.)