Proposals for Improving the Patent System

82282

84th Congress)
2d Session

COMMITTEE PRINT

MAR 22 1957

PORUMENT

PROPOSALS FOR IMPROVING THE
PATENT SYSTEM

STUDY OF

THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON PATENTS,
TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

UNITED STATES SENATE

EIGHTY-FOURTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

PURSUANT TO

S. Res. 167

Study No. 1

Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary

UNITED STATES

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

WASHINGTON: 1956

COVISION

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SUBCOMMITTEE ON PATENTS, TRADEMARKS, AND COPYRIGHTS

JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY, Wyoming, Chairman

OLIN D. JOHNSTON, South Carolina

ALEXANDER WILEY, Wisconsin

MARCUS A. HOLLABAUGH, Counsel
JOHN C. STEDMAN, Associate Counsel
JULIAN CAPLAN, Consultant

FOREWORD

The following research study was prepared by Dr. Vannevar Bush at the request of the Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights as part of the study of the United States patent system it is conducting pursuant to Senate Resolutions 92 and 167 of the 84th Congress. Dr. Bush's study is one of a number of special studies undertaken for the subcommittee under its mandate "to conduct a *** complete examination and review of the statutes relating to patents The authors of these studies have been selected on the basis of their understanding, experience, and vision in dealing with the patent system.

*** "9

Dr. Bush's long association with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, D. C., his achievements and experience in the fields of science, business, and government, and his active participation in prior studies of the patent system make him uniquely qualified to aid the subcommittee in its present study. He was Chairman of the Science Advisory Board established by the President in 1933 to study the patent system and served as a member of the Patent Survey Committee appointed in 1945 to conduct a similar study. From 1941 to 1946, he was Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development. More recently, he has been chairman of the Department of Commerce Advisory Committee on the Application of Machines to Patent Office Operations. Dr. Bush is the author of many articles, monographs, and treatises, including Science, the Endless Frontier (1945), a report to the President on a program for postwar scientific research, and Modern Arms and Free Men (1949). He is a leading authority on such currently crucial public issues as automation, secrecy in research, and electronic computers. The business world's respect for his accomplishments and ability is evidenced by his membership on the board of directors of Metals & Controls Corp., Merck & Co., and American Telephone & Telegraph Co.

Since this is the first of the special studies to be published, it is important to state clearly its relation to the policies and views of the subcommittee. The views expressed in Dr. Bush's study are entirely his own. The subcommittee accepts, and welcomes, the report for consideration and study, but its publication in no way signifies or implies acceptance or approval by the subcommittee or any of its members of the facts, opinions, or recommendations contained in it. Such publication does, however, testify to the subcommittee's belief that the report represents a valuable contribution to the literature concerning the patent system and its operation, and that the public interest will be served by its publication, distribution, and consideration.

(Signed) JOSEPH C. O'MAHONEY, Chairman, Subcommittee on Patents, Trademarks, and Copyrights, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate. DECEMBER 20, 1956.

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