American business have long thought that they are harmed by cheap "knock-off" imports from overseas, especially from Asia and China. Once a product becomes successful, numerous imitations seem to pop out of nowhere. Without being able to stop these, many American business can suffer significant lost sales. The practice is so wide-spread that President Obama just put forth an "urgent agenda" that includes claims that China is taking American jobs, by "stealing" American technology.
What nobody has yet realized is that our own Congress is largely to blame -- not the Chinese. Yes, the Chinese do like to copy products, but in many cases they are largely within their legal rights. If a product is not protected by some form of intellectual property right, then anyone is free to make and sell that product. In most cases, the primary form of intellectual property right used to stop products from entering the United States is a patent.
To read the full, original article click on this link: Darin Gibby: U.S. Patent Office Favors Foreign Innovators: How the USPTO Leaves American Inventors Open to Chinese Knock-offs
