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Atomic energy
Computers

Radar

Microwave technology

Cyclotron

Inertial guidance

Mechanized wiring (Printed circuits)
Mercury dry cell

OCR (Optical Character Recognition)
Magnetic core memories

Vacuum tube

Xerography

FM radio

Laser

Penicillin

Insulin

Catalytic cracking of petroleum

Jet engine

Fiber optics

Flotation glass

Magnetic recording

Holography

Oxygen steel-making process

Heterodyne radio

DDT

Streptomycin

Gyrocompass

Rockets

Titanium

Shell molding

Shrink-proof knitted wear

Dacron polyester fiber "Terylene"

Zipper

Automatic transmission

Continuous hot-strip rolling of steel

Helicopter

Power steering

Color photography

Air conditioning

Polaroid camera

Cellophane

Tungsten carbide

Bakelite

Velcro fasteners

Hovercraft

TV tape recording

Continuous casting of metals.

Foam rubber

It is interesting to note that the first ten inventions on the list above were developed under Government sponsorship and many of the others had a considerable amount of Government aid in their development.

Senator SCHMITT. Gentlemen, I must go cast my vote, and I thank you for your testimony. Thank you again. This has been a very useful set of hearings. We anticipate that there may even be

some more.

Thank you.

[Whereupon, at 12 noon, the hearing was adjourned.]

PATENT POLICY

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 25, 1979

U.S. SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND SPACE,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met at 10:30 a.m. in room 318, Russell Senate Office Building, Hon. Adlai E. Stevenson (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR STEVENSON

Senator STEVENSON. The subcommittee will come to order. Today we continue hearings on Government patent policy, in particular S. 1215, introduced by Senator Schmitt, to establish a uniform policy for determining the rights of Government, its contractors, and employees to publicly financed inventions.

This bill basically extends the policy of the Department of Defense to the Federal Government's civilian research and development programs. Senator Schmitt.

OPENING STATEMENT BY SENATOR SCHMITT

Senator SCHMITT. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I again welcome this opportunity to participate in these hearings, the third day of subcommittee hearings on Government patent policies and the impact of such policies on the governmental innovation process. Testimony to date from a broad range of witnesses representing both the Government and private sectors has underscored the need to reevaluate the basic assumptions underlying the policy for managing our national investment in science and technology research and development. Experience has shown that current policies have failed miserably to effectuate the transfer of new technologies to the marketplace. Federal patent policies which were originally designed to protect the public interest by preventing the so-called giveaway have in fact operated to discourage contractor bidding, eliminate incentives to innovate or disclose new ideas, and delay the commercialization of inventions developed under Federal contracts. The real loser has been the consumer and the taxpayer. Current Federal patent policy is scattered throughout a hodgepodge of statutes, Executive orders, and regulations which have formed a costly maze of bureaucratic redtape-all falsely in the name of the public interest. Delays in the processing of normal waiver applications can take several years, at a cost to both the contractor and the Government. Despite sizable patent staffs and aggressive technology transfer programs, the commercialization

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rate for agency-owned inventions is disappointingly low-in fact, less than 2 percent of NASA-owned inventions have been transferred to the marketplace. Governmentwide, nearly 3,000 inventions are collecting dust on agency shelves and less than 5 percent have been effectively utilized. The time is long past for questioning who should own the inventions created by the use of billions of tax dollars. We have a right to benefit from the fruits of those expenditures by demanding that potentially significant new inventions be allowed to reach the marketplace. The inventor is obviously the most likely person to see that this happens. His or her pride and livelihood is at stake.

It is not surprising that increased interest in reform of our Government's patent policy is being shown by both the executive and legislative branches. This past week the House Science and Technology Committee initiated its own investigation of the Government's patent policies and it appears willing to move forward in this area. As you well know, Mr. Chairman, the bill that you cosponsored along with the chairman of the full committee, Senator Cannon, has been introduced in the House. The administration has also conducted an extensive evaluation of the patent policy issue together with its domestic policy review. I understand that we can expect to receive the President's recommendations any day now. Whether you and I would agree with that policy remains to be seen.

Too often we seek solutions which require new and expensive programs rather than taking the time to reexamine and adjust existing policies which have been ineffective and oftentimes counterproductive. Mr. Chairman, the bill that you and Senator Cannon joined with me in sponsoring was offered as a moderate approach to bring some uniformity and commonsense to this much debated and controversial issue. It stands between the approaches of the past and I think takes advantage of the debate that has occurred up until this time. I have been encouraged by the thoughtful testimony of our previous witnesses, and I look forward to what promises to be a stimulating dialog today. Thank you, Mr. Chair

man.

Senator STEVENSON. Thank you, Senator. Not all of our witnesses are here. I will call first Mr. Jacob Rabinow to continue his testimony. Mr. Rabinow is a former vice president of Control Data Corp., an electrical engineer with some 200 patents, and a consultant to the National Bureau of Standards. Your testimony was interrupted at our last meeting for which we both apologize. Mr. RABINOW. It's always an honor to speak to you, even if the time is short.

Senator STEVENSON. You're very kind.

STATEMENT OF JACOB RABINOW, BETHESDA, MD.

Mr. RABINOW. I'm sorry that I'm first. I would have loved to hear Admiral Rickover, not because I agree with anything he says; as a matter of fact, I disagree most heartily with everything he says about patents. I read his testimony this morning. The difficulty is that he equates all patents with nuclear patents. I think they are not equatable. Nuclear submarines are not exactly the same kind

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