BACK in 1966, when Beatlemania was at its height, a commission appointed by President Lyndon B. Johnson said it was time for the US to change its unique patenting system. From now on, it said, patents should not necessarily go to the original inventor, but to the person who applies first to have the invention patented, just as happens everywhere else in the world.
On Monday, almost four decades on, this sentiment was echoed by the US National Research Council in a report entitled A patent system for the 21st century. “The US should conform its law to that of…
