Patent Policy – From the Hill to the Patent Office. CONNECT. Effective intellectual property (IP) protection is essential to the survival of start-up companies. Without strong IP protection, companies will fail to raise early stage funding and will be vulnerable to opportunistic and incumbent competitors. Because the assertion of low quality patents can harm innovation by unwarranted litigation, patent policy must also ensure appropriate protections for innovators from such harm, including the issuance of high-quality patents by the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO).CONNECT is pleased to host a special policy forum focused on the issues surrounding patent reform. See http://www.connect.org |