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      "date": "2011-12-09",
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      "title": "Patent Reform: Issues in the Biomedical and Software Industries",
      "summary": "The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, P.L. 112-29, passed Congress following several years of legislative debate over patent reform. This attention to patent policy reflects a recognition of the increasing importance of intellectual property to U.S. innovation. Patent ownership is perceived as an incentive to the technological advancement that leads to economic growth. As such, the number of patent applications and grants has grown significantly, as have the type and breadth of inventions that can be patented.\nAlong with the expansion in the number and range of patents, there were growing concerns over whether the current system was working efficiently and effectively. Several studies recommended patent reform and various bills were introduced in recent congresses that would make significant alterations in current patent law. Other experts maintained that major changes in existing law were unnecessary and that, while not perfect, the patent process was adapting to technological progress. \nThe patent laws provide a system under which all inventions are subject to the same requirements of patentability regardless of the technical field in which they arose. However, inventors and innovative companies in different industries often hold divergent views concerning the importance of patents, reflecting varying experiences with the patent system. Innovators in the biomedical sector tend to see patent protection as a critically important way to prohibit competitors from appropriating the results of a company\u2019s research and development efforts. Typically only a few, often one or two, patents cover a particular drug. In contrast, the nature of software development is such that inventions often are cumulative and new products generally embody numerous patentable inventions. As a result, distinct industries may react differently to the patent reform legislation enacted by Congress.",
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      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
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      "id": "RL33367_2007Dec14",
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      "id": "RL33367_2007May07",
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      "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26",
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    {
      "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department",
      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc816184/",
      "id": "RL33367_2006Nov20",
      "date": "2006-11-20",
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    {
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      "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metacrs9214/",
      "id": "RL33367 2006-04-07",
      "date": "2006-04-07",
      "retrieved": "2006-09-18T09:37:03",
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      "topics": [
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          "source": "LIV",
          "id": "Intellectual property",
          "name": "Intellectual property"
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        {
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          "id": "Technological innovations",
          "name": "Technological innovations"
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        {
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  "topics": [
    "American Law",
    "Economic Policy",
    "Health Policy"
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}