Patent Reform: High Stakes for Small Biz

摘要

Ben Cappiello thinks he has a better way to make intrauterine contraceptive devices. He's hoping to patent his idea, but when his application gets to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in October, it will land at the bottom of a stack of more than 700,000 others. Cappiello can expect to wait nearly three years for a ruling, which could make it harder to raise money. Venture capitalists are wary when "there are still a lot of question marks about your intellectual property," he says.