" lationsl Buresm 01 v »< JUL 1 0 1974 7HO160 The Public Need and the Role of the Inventor 1% Proceedings of a Conference held in Monterey, California June 11-14, 1973 Edited by Florence Essers and Jacob Rabinow Office of Invention and Innovation Institute for Applied Technology National Bureau of Standards Washington, D.C. 20234 3%% U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Frederick B. Dent, Secretary NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS, Richard W. Roberts, Director Issued May 1974 Library of Congress Catalog Number: 73-600324 National Bureau of Standards Special Publication 388 Nat. Bur. Stand. (U.S.), Spec. Publ. 388, 215 pages (May 1974) CODEN: XNBSAV U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1974 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 20402 (Order by SD Catalog No. C 13. 10: 388). Price $5.55. Stock Number 0303-01261 Abstract This book presents the proceedings of the Conference on the Public Need and the Role of the Inven- tor, held at Monterey, Calif., on June 11-14, 1973. The conference, based on a recommendation of the National Inventors Council, was sponsored by the Office of Invention and Innovation, Institute for Ap- plied Technology, under a grant from the Experimental Technology Incentives Program, NBS. The pur- pose of the conference was to study the climate for invention and how to make it one in which America's inventors can flourish for the common good. Eighteen invited papers were presented. In addition, the proceedings includes statements from the chairmen of the three sessions: Charles S. Draper, Jacob Rabinow, and Myron Coler. The proceedings are divided into three sessions with an edited version of the floor discussions following the papers. Following the presentation of papers, the participants of the con- ference separated into six workshop panels. Their recommendations are presented at the end of this volume. Key words: Antitrust doctrine; employed inventors; entrepreneurship; innovation; invention; needs of society; new enterprises; Patent Office; patent system; technological policy making; technology. Ill Foreword The Conference on the Public Need and the Role of the Inventor was based on a recommendation by the National Inventors Council to the Secretary of Commerce, and was made possible by a grant from the Ex- perimental Technology Incentives Program of the National Bureau of Standards. The ETIP program was initiated in fiscal year 1973 as part of the President's program to stimulate technological innovation for the solution of national problems. The objective of the program is to learn how the Federal Government can provide policies and incentives which will encourage greater technological in- novation in the private sector. The recommendation of the National Inventors Council also arose from the Council's concern about the technological problems facing our Nation: increasing international competition, dwindling productivity, massive environmental problems, and the necessity for improving the quality of life for its citizens. The Council felt that the challenge is to revitalize our capacity for beneficial technological innovation, strengthening our industries at home and bolstering our trade position abroad. Yet, the Council recognized that there is considerable difference of opinion about the value of the patent system and about the processes of invention and innovation. Nor do we know enough about the barriers that impede the conception and nurture of new ideas and their development into new products and processes. We need to know more about what the climate for invention is and how to make it one in which America's inventors can flourish for the common good. The Conference was organized to bring together experts in the fields of invention and innovation to present their views on these problems, with the hope of educating those not familiar with the issues in- volved, of stimulating further interest and discussion, and of recommending action in those instances where action is called for, "and studies to be made in those areas where further information is most urgently needed. The National Bureau of Standards is pleased to present the Proceedings of the Conference on the Public Need and the Role of the Inventor. Publication of this text expresses our appreciation to the participants and to all those who contributed to make this a successful conference. Jacob Rabinow, Chief Office of Invention and Innovation F. Karl Willenbrock, Director Institute for Applied Technology IV Preface The purpose of this conference was to examine the economic and social effects of invention and innova- tion, and the ways in which they are influenced by selected legal and institutional structures. The conference also addressed itself to the inventor's contribution to the invention and innovation process, comparing the roles played by independent and employed inventors. The foreseeable trends in pol- icies and practices affecting the inventor were also examined. The conference was attended by representatives from Government, industry, universities, research in- stitutes, trade associations, and the patent bar. Following the presentation of the papers, the conferees participated in six panels on the following sub- jects: — The Role of the Patent System — The Role of Industry — The Role of Government — The Role of the Educational System — The Role of the Independent Inventor — The International Aspect The recommendations of the panel workshops follow the papers in this volume. One of the main topics of concern to the conference was the recent deterioration of the regard held for the patent system. The Panel on the Role of the Patent System made recommendations with a view toward strengthening the patent system and Patent Office procedures, and toward preventing the erosion of the validity of patents in the courts. The conferees were also concerned with the lack of uniformity in Government patent policy, and the problem of Government retention of patents. The Panels on Government, Industry and Education each recommended that the Government adopt a uniform patent policy, and that it should not retain patent rights to inventions resulting from Government-supported work, but only retain a license to practice for Govern- ment use, thus releasing inventions for further development and public use. The role of the employed inventor was discussed in several papers, the systems of employee compensa- tion in other countries being presented by Dr. Neumeyer. While recognizing that many companies in the United States have an enlightened policy toward encouraging and rewarding inventors they employ, the Panel on Industry recommended that national guidelines should be established that could be adapted to in- dividual circumstances in those companies that do not have such a policy. A minority report was submitted by Robert Kuntz of the American Society of Professional Engineers. The Panel on the Role of the Independent Inventor recommended that more information be developed on what knowledge and services are needed by inexperienced inventors, and that Government procure- ment practices encourage inventions by independent inventors. They also counseled against changing present patent practices which are favorable to the independent inventor. V The role of the university in training innovators was examined by the Panel on Education, and several recommendations were made: — that Government-financed fellowship programs be set up to encourage creative engineering — that more innovation centers be created at or near universities — that funds be set up for research and development activities in areas of critical national needs — that industry internship experience be encouraged — that some provision be made for continuing education for engineers The international aspects of patents and incentives for inventors were discussed by the sixth panel. The panel felt that every effort should be made to develop a world patent system, with the exception that the "first-to-invent" system should be retained in the United States. It was further recommended that the United States participate in international conventions related to inventors or patents, and that continuing studies be made on matters pertaining to patents and innovation, both in the United States and the rest of the world. Other studies, too, were recommended by the panels on matters on which they felt there is insufficient data: — A study of changing attitudes of the courts over recent decades with respect to patents — Organization of seminars with Federal Judges with respect to the patent system — A study of Patent Office fee structure — A study on the economic benefits of the patent system — A study by the Patent Office as to what is involved in "quality review" — A study on the patent-antitrust relationship — A study on whether the independent inventor should get tax incentives, and financial, technical and ad- ministrative help — A study to illuminate concentrated areas of technological research and development by competitive countries in the world market — A collection and dissemination of information on the importance of inventors and the patent system to the national well-being. The editors of this book would like to thank the members of the program committee: Drs. C. E. Anag- nostopoulos, M. Coler, C. S. Draper, N. Kapany and J. Stedman; and Mrs. D. Blackmon, Miss C. Crosby, R. B. Johnson and Mrs. S. R. Torrence of the arrangements and finance committee. Additional thanks go to the session chairmen: C. S. Draper, of the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., and M. Coler of New York University. Special thanks are due to Mrs. Sandra Wean and Mrs. Muriel Nichols for typing the manuscript and to Ms. Rebecca Morehouse and Ms. Miriam Oland for production of these proceedings using modern electronic typesetting techniques. Jacob Rabinow Florence Essers VI Contents Page Foreword IV Preface v SESSION T Chairman: C. S. Draper Opening Remarks C. S. Draper 1 Inventions, Innovations, and Incentives Betsy Ancker-Johnson 5 Discussion 9 An Economist Looks at the Patent System R. D. Tollison 11 Discussion 14 Trends in Technological Policy Making D. V. De Simone 17 Discussion 20 New Enterprise Generation R.