WASHINGTON, DC -- 09/30/08 --
The following is a statement by Ronald J.
Riley of the Professional Inventors Alliance.
"Everyone should keep in mind while watching Flash of Genius that today's
inventors face the same problems and that continuing poor corporate conduct
is costing Americans jobs and prosperity.
"The movie Flash of Genius shows that Bob Kearns was a complicated man who
like most inventors was deeply impacted by the persecution he suffered at
the hands of patent pirating large corporations. We are all products of our
environments; this is especially true of inventors who suffer under the
yoke of large corporate abuse.
"The movie does a great job of showing Bob Kearns was deeply offended and
rightly so by the conduct of all the auto companies, and the realization
that a US Patent doesn't grant you the right to exclude anyone. It grants
the right to start a war. It became his mission to force disreputable
companies to change. That was a futile mission but Bob still forged ahead.
"While Flash of Genius does a good job of conveying the harm done to
inventors it misses many important similarities between Bob Kearn's plight
and today's inventors.
"It would have been nice if Flash of Genius had explored rather in light of
globalization America can afford to allow inventors to continue to be
victimized by thieving transnational companies. How many inventors' careers
have been destroyed? How many inventors discouraged? What has been the
economic impact of this?
"Another important point which the movie missed was that twenty years ago
when companies stole inventors' creativity the jobs created by those
inventions stayed in America. Today such piracy is by companies who
promptly ship those jobs and prosperity of American ingenuity to low wage
counties. These are the same companies who are shipping American jobs and
our great country's collective manufacturing know how to other countries.
"Flash of Genius probably should have recognized that auto companies,
especially Ford, are dying a slow death today because of their failure to
embrace invention and abide by patents spirit, promotion of progress.
"The lesson of Flash of Genius is timely because many of our technology
companies, our insurance and banking industries have the same mindset as
Ford and the other auto companies and are on the same path as the auto
industry. Today, tech, insurance and banking interests even have a trade
association calling itself the Coalition for Patent Fairness which promotes
the same destructive conduct as Ford.
"Flash of Genius left no doubt that the root of these problems is unethical
corporations who have become traitors to America in their quest of short
term profit by any means.
"Bob Kearns was a funding member of the Professional Inventors Alliance. We
are delighted that Flash of Genius will help the public understand in some
measure the forces which shape inventor's world view."
Contact:
Ronald J. Riley
Affiliations:
President -- www.PIAUSA.org -- RJR at PIAUSA.org
Executive Director -- www.InventorEd.org -- RJR at InvEd.org
Senior Fellow -- www.PatentPolicy.org
President -- Alliance for American Innovation
Caretaker of Intellectual Property Creators on behalf of deceased founder
Paul Heckel
Washington, DC
Direct (202) 318-1595 - 9 am to 9 pm EST.
