[TowerTalk] Hi-Z Antenna Stuff

[Rick Karlquist]

K8RI wrote:
> BTW US law has changed from first to invent to first to patent. I worked
> for a large chemical corporation who kept all of their work
> proprietary.   That worked for over 50 years. Then another large (well
> known) company finally reverse engineered the process (which was
> surprisingly simple), patented it and then sued for infringement.  This
> was before first to patent.  They lost and we won.
> Now days we would lose even though we invented the materials over 50
> years prior to them making the patent application.

This story doesn't make sense.  There is a standard of due diligence
leading to a patent application.  I invented something once and we never
filed on it and 5 years later someone else invented the same thing and
got a patent on it.  My patent attorneys told me it was considered an
"abandoned" invention and I was out of luck.  We had to license it back.
It didn't matter if I invented it first.

Rick N6RK