JAMES DYSON, inventor of the bagless vacuum cleaner, won his patent battle
with Hoover last week鈥攂ut 快猫短视频 can reveal that he has
been refused the opportunity to fight a separate case in the European Court of
Human Rights. The decision means inventors from around the world who file
patents internationally will have to continue paying annual renewal fees to keep
their patents in force.
Dyson filed his bedrock patent in 1980, but couldn鈥檛 interest established
manufacturers in his invention. He started selling his bagless cleaner in 1992.
In 1997, he began campaigning against the 鈥渢errible tyranny of patents鈥�,
complaining that inventors have to pay 鈥渆normous sums鈥� to keep their patents
alive.
Earlier this year, Dyson described this renewal system as 鈥渓udicrous鈥� when
compared with copyright in books and songs, which is free. 鈥淭his is why I鈥檓
currently taking the Department of Trade and Industry to the European Court of
Human Rights over patent law,鈥� he wrote in a supplement to
The Daily Telegraph.
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But the DTI, which runs Britain鈥檚 Patent Office has now confirmed that it is
not expecting to defend a case in the European Court of Human Rights. Asked how
the case was progressing, a spokeswoman for Dyson first said he was 鈥渟till
lobbying and protesting鈥� and that 鈥渢he case had not yet gone to trial鈥�. But
later, she said that 鈥渢he European Court has declined to hear the case鈥�.
Most patent offices around the world charge patent renewal fees on an
upwardly sliding scale. The idea is that inventors pay less while they are still
struggling to sell their newly patented ideas. Intellectual property expert Ted
Blake says that without such fees, taxpayers would have to foot the bill for
patent examination and processing.