knows _or_should_have_known_. This creates a strong incentive for the appli-
cant to discover relevant prior art. And it would help the U.S. Patent Office
make a judgment about whether a patent should be granted.

If Congress determines that business method patents are justified, it
should also consider the proposals of Jeff Bezos and Tim O'Reilly to grant
patent protection for business methods for only a very short period. Bezos
proposes five years, but an even shorter period may make sense.[14-29] Network
technologies move so quickly that a longer period of protection is never
really needed; and whatever distortions this system might produce, they
could be minimized by shorting the period of protection.

Congress should also, and most obviously, radically improve funding for
the U.S. Patent Office and mandate fundamental improvements in the
functioning of that office.[14-30]

Finally, Congress should consider the proposals of Congressman Berman
to deny patents to business methods that are simply translations from real-
space inventions to cyberspace.[14-31] Scholars at first thought these inventions
would be denied patent protection because of lack of inventiveness.[14-32] But a
clear rule marking the lack of inventiveness has not been shown.[14-33]

///\\\

These changes are just beginnings, but they would be significant be-
ginnings if done. They would together go a great distance in assuring that
the space for innovation remains open and that the resources for innovation
remain free. They would commit us to an environment that would preserve
the innovation we have seen.

[[261]]

p260 _ -chap- _ toc-1 _ p261w _ toc-2 _ +chap+ _ p262

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