经济学人205:知识产权,悬而未决的专利

 　　Intellectual property知识产权

　　Many patents, still pending¹

　　悬而未决的专利

　　Congress tweaks, but does not overhaul², America’s patent system

　　国会将对美国专利制度进行小幅修改

　　Sep 10th 2011 | NEW YORK | from the print edition

　　AFTER years of dithering, America is set for patent reform. On September 6th a bill proposing to change the system passed its highest procedural hurdle³ in the Senate. With Barack Obama supportive, this means the America Invents Act could soon be signed into law.

　　徘徊犹豫了多年，美国终于着手专利改革。9月6号，整改议案过了最艰难的一关——参议院。得到总统巴拉克?奥巴马的支持，美国发明法规将很快能正式写入法律。

　　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.

　　美国专利目前遵循“第一发明”原则，将改为授予第一个申请注册的人。目前大部分国家都实行这种规定，这样可避免对第一发明人的确定争论不休，难以确定。

　　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 organisations, highly experienced at the difficult job of filing for patents, an advantage over smaller outfits⁴ that may be technically⁵ brilliant but not legally savvy⁶. Another problem is that first-to-file may make companies rush to put in for a patent before their invention is truly ready.

　　如专利法中涉及的案例很多都不能简单的界定。有一种批评意见是，申请注册专利会造成庞大复杂的机构，特别是申请过程更是项困难的工作，小型机构的优点在于技术上的优越而不只是合法的专业知识。另一个问题是专利的申请可能促使一些公司在一些发明尚未成型时就急于将其注册。

　　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. The number of disputed cases going to trial, average awards and legal costs have all ballooned. To many, the system looks like a lottery⁷.

　　另外，法律没有解决专利体系存在一个更重要的问题：各类公司为保护自己的点子付出高昂的支出。许多有争议的申请案例被搬上了法庭，最后或平分奖金或取得合法补偿，诸如此类的事件不断发生。对许多人来说，这种制度更像是博彩活动。

　　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 derisively⁸ as “patent trolls”. These buy up patents and then license⁹ them or sue for infringement¹⁰, 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 strenuous¹¹ lobbying by Wall Street. And many advocated making it harder to get any kind of patent at all.

　　有些人认为专利申请是件易事的人称，此法案仍会造成大量诉讼纠纷，特别是那些毫无经验的企业，它们被戏称为“专利的钓饵”。它们购买专利不是为了自己使用，转而注册成为自己所有，或用于高发侵权行为。拥有很多专利的人尤其希望去掉“商业用途”的专利，他们表示已经发明了一种新的经营方式。然而，经过华尔街艰难的游说，议案只是在金融业去除了“商业用途”专利申请。另外，许多人支持提高所有专利申请的难度。

　　The bill does make some changes that could be positive. It creates several new procedures to deter¹² or defeat bad patents. One would let an alleged¹³ infringer¹⁴ of a patent challenge its validity at the Patent and Trademark¹⁵ Office (PTO), rather than going to court. This would, in theory, be cheaper and faster. But it could still be followed by a lawsuit¹⁶.

　　法案并没有做出一些积极地变动，只新增加了几条打击有害专利的程序。第一，被指控侵权者不必被送至法庭，可到专利商标局（PTO）说明其非法性。原则上说这样做即省钱又快速，而且之后仍可对其侵权行为进行控诉。

　　Second, the bill expands the right of third parties to join the fray¹⁷ 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 affected¹⁸ by a dodgy patent, allowing them to argue things out at an early stage rather than later on in a costly¹⁹ courtroom.

　　第二，法案体现“优先权之道”——即申请专利的发明之前已有人知道则不能通过。这样就扩大了在PTO参与纠纷的第三方权利。法案使双方在初期就公开辩论，防止企业在遇到一些狡猾的专利申请者时，浪费过多时间和金钱在法庭上。

　　One of the biggest criticisms of the bill concerns the PTO’s funding, which some think should be increased so that the office can hire and keep the best examiners and so reduce a huge backlog²⁰ of applications. Instead, Congress chose to multiply the alternative dispute-resolution procedures at the PTO, giving the office more work to do without a guarantee of more money. The result is a muddle²¹ as well as a missed opportunity.

　　对此法案一个最大的异议是有关PTO的成立，有些人认为应多建几所PTO，这样就能让雇佣最好的审查官，减少申请案例的大量积压。但是，国会选择在PTO大量增加可供选择的争论解决程序，加大了PTO工作量的同时，有没有给予更多资金保障，致使局面混乱，失去最佳调节机会。

1 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

2 overhaul   

v./n.大修，仔细检查

参考例句：

• Master Worker Wang is responsible for the overhaul of this grinder.王师傅主修这台磨床。
• It is generally appreciated that the rail network needs a complete overhaul.众所周知，铁路系统需要大检修。

3 hurdle   

n.跳栏，栏架；障碍，困难；vi.进行跨栏赛

参考例句：

• The weather will be the biggest hurdle so I have to be ready.天气将会是最大的障碍，所以我必须要作好准备。
• She clocked 11.6 seconds for the 80 metre hurdle.八十米跳栏赛跑她跑了十一秒六。

4 outfits   

n.全套装备( outfit的名词复数 )；一套服装；集体；组织v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• He jobbed out the contract to a number of small outfits. 他把承包工程分包给许多小单位。 来自辞典例句
• Some cyclists carry repair outfits because they may have a puncture. 有些骑自行车的人带修理工具，因为他们车胎可能小孔。 来自辞典例句

5 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

6 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

7 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

8 derisively   

adv. 嘲笑地，嘲弄地

参考例句：

• This answer came derisively from several places at the same instant. 好几个人都不约而同地以讥讽的口吻作出回答。
• The others laughed derisively. 其余的人不以为然地笑了起来。

9 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

10 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

11 strenuous   

adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的

参考例句：

• He made strenuous efforts to improve his reading. 他奋发努力提高阅读能力。
• You may run yourself down in this strenuous week.你可能会在这紧张的一周透支掉自己。

12 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

13 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

14 infringer   

[法] 侵权人

参考例句：

• The infringement exists even if the infringer did not know about the patent. 即使侵权人不了解专利侵权依然存在。 来自互联网
• Those members also expressed concern regarding the calculation of damages based on the infringer's profits. 这些成员还对以侵权人利润为基础计算损失的做法表示关注。 来自互联网

15 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

16 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

17 fray   

v.争吵；打斗；磨损，磨破；n.吵架；打斗

参考例句：

• Why should you get involved in their fray?你为什么要介入他们的争吵呢？
• Tempers began to fray in the hot weather.大热天脾气烦燥。

18 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

19 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

20 backlog   

n.积压未办之事

参考例句：

• It will take a month to clear the backlog of work.要花一个月的时间才能清理完积压的工作。
• Investment is needed to reduce the backlog of repairs.需要投资来減轻积压的维修工作。

21 muddle   

n.困惑，混浊状态；vt.使混乱，使糊涂，使惊呆；vi.胡乱应付，混乱

参考例句：

• Everything in the room was in a muddle.房间里每一件东西都是乱七八糟的。
• Don't work in a rush and get into a muddle.克服忙乱现象。