I9o  Need  for  Patent-Law  Revision.     {A^Jr°cuhr-  f^fi™" 
NEED  FOR  PATENT-LAW  REVISION.    REPORT  OF  THE 
COMMITTEE  ON  PATENT-LAW  REVISION  OF  THE 
COUNCIL  ON  PHARMACY  AND  CHEMISTRY 
OF  THE  AMERICAN  MEDICAL 
ASSOCIATION.1 
At  the  present  critical  time  when  the  efficiency  of  this  nation 
must  be  raised  to  the  highest  point,  it  is  essential  that  the  United 
States  government  should  lead  in  the  efforts  tending  to  such  in- 
creased efficiency.  To  bring  this  about  the  government  must  protect 
and  stimulate  science,  art  and  industry  and  at  the  same  time  curb  or 
prevent  waste  of  the  country's  resources.  In  this  field  the  United 
States  Patent  Office  has  unlimited  power  for  good  and  evil — good, 
in  the  issuance  of  patent  grants  for  novel  devices  and  substances 
which  go  to  increase  national  efficiency;  evil,  in  the  granting  of 
patent  protection  where  such  protection  is  not  in  the  interest  of 
national  efficiency,  conservation  of  energy  and  material  resources. 
For  years  the  American  Medical  Association,  in  common  with 
the  national  pharmaceutical  bodies,  has  been  urging  the  amendment 
of  the  law  which  governs  the  issuance  of  patents  on  medicinal 
preparations  and  more  particularly  revision  of  the  procedure  under 
which  such  patents  are  issued.  At  the  Chicago  (1908)  meeting  of 
the  American  Medical  Association  a  special  committee  of  five  was 
appointed  by  the  House  of  Delegates  to  study  the  questions  involved, 
and  to  cooperate  with  the  Association's  committee  on  medical  legis- 
lation in  preparing  and  securing  the  enactment  of  a  bill  which 
would  correct  the  abuses  connected  with  the  enforcement  of  our 
patent  laws  (The  Journal  A.  M.  A.,  June  13,  1908,  p.  2003).  This 
committee  presented  a  comprehensive  report  at  the  Atlantic  City 
{1909)  meeting  of  the  American  Medical  Association  (The  Journal 
A.  M.  A.,  June  19,  1909,  p.  2063).  A  further  report  was  pre- 
sented at  the  St.  Louis  (1910)  meeting  of  the  American  Medical 
Association  (The  Journal  A.  M.  A.,  June  18,  1910,  p.  2079).  In 
191 1  (The  Journal  A.  M.  A.,  November  25,  191 1,  p.  1780)  the 
Council  on  Pharmacy  and  Chemistry  of  the  American  Medical  As- 
sociation issued  a  report  which  set  forth  the  inadequacy  of  our 
patent  laws  as  they  are  administered  in  relation  to  medical  products 
particularly. 
1  From  the  Journal  of  the  American  Medical  Association. 
