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  3. After years of dithering (徘徊犹豫), America is set for patent reform. On September 6th a bill proposing to change the system passed

After years of dithering (徘徊犹豫), America is set for patent reform. On September 6th a bill proposing to change the system passed

admin2022-01-18  37
问题     After years of dithering (徘徊犹豫), America is set for patent reform. On September 6th a bill proposing to change the system passed its highest procedural hurdle (障碍) in the Senate. With Barack Obama supportive, this means the America Invents Act could soon be signed into law.
    Instead of the "first to invent" principle, which America currently uses, patents will be awarded to inventors who are the "first to file". This is similar to the system most other countries use. The aim is to avoid long and difficult legal arguments over who was the first to come up with an idea.
    As in most cases of patent law it is not going to be that simple. One criticism is that being first-to-file gives big and sophisticated organizations, highly experienced at the difficult job of filing for patents, an advantage over smaller outfits that may be technically brilliant but not legally savvy. Another problem is that first-to-file may make companies rush to put in for a patent before their invention is truly ready.
    Moreover, the law does little to address the more basic problem of a patent system that has grown in expense for all kinds of companies that want to protect their ideas. With the number of disputed cases going to trial, legal costs have ballooned. To many, the system looks like a lottery.
    Those who think that patents are granted too easily complain that the bill will still allow too many suits, especially those by "non-practising entities" , which are also known derisively (嘲笑地) as "patent trolls". They buy up patents and then license them or sue for infringement, rather than using the patents themselves. The too-many-patents crowd wanted to do away, in particular, with "business-method" patents, which claim to have invented a new way of doing business. Instead, the bill did this only for the financial industry, after strenuous (费力的) lobbying by Wall Street. And many advocated making it harder to get any kind of patent at all.
    The bill does make some changes that could be positive. It creates several new procedures to deter or defeat bad patents. First, one would let an alleged infringer of a patent challenge its validity at the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO), rather than going to court. This would, in theory, be cheaper and faster. But it could still be followed by a lawsuit.
    Second, the bill expands the right of third parties to join the fray (争斗) at the PTO by showing "prior art"—meaning the invention is already known about and so a patent should not be granted. This might save time and money for firms which would be affected by a dodgy patent, allowing them to argue things out at an early stage rather than later on in a costly courtroom.
What is the problem of "first to file" patent system?
选项 A、Organizations are reluctant to file for patents.
B、It’s hard for small and inexperienced firms to file for patents.
C、The law provides little protection for patent rights.
D、The law advocates lawsuits against patent rights.
答案B
解析 由题干中的“first to file”定位到原文第三段细节辨认题。本题考查“先申请，先专利”原则存在哪些弊端。定位段第二、三句分析了新的“先申请，先专利”原则的一些弊端，如大公司比小公司在技术上占优势。B)“规模较小且缺乏申请经验的公司很难申请到专利”与原文表述一致，故为答案。
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