Why Bother With Foreign Patents?

Dear Rich: Why would you bother getting a patent in other countries if you have been granted one in the USA. Surely, if a patent were granted in the USA that would be enough to deter someone from taking it out in other countries? If you had taken out a PCT and filed for the patent in other countries but only taken it to full patent in the USA someone else would surely be prevented from taking a patent out on your idea in the other countries as it had already been published. Is this correct thinking or am I missing something here?  It's true that after you file your patent application, inventors outside the U.S. may be blocked from getting a similar patent in their respective countries. But the lack of foreign patent rights makes it easier to make and sell your invention abroad. After all, if nobody has a patent, anybody can make the invention. (As you're aware, a U.S. patent is only enforced within national borders.) For many inventors, control over the U.S. market is enough -- after all, the U.S. often accounts for one-third or one-quarter of a new product's sales. Also, the cost of obtaining foreign patents can be prohibitive and often outweighs their speculative value. But for big multinationals with global product introductions, international patent protection is necessary.

Wants to Use 50-Year Old European Recordings

Dear Rich: I'm thinking of starting a a business that re-packages recordings on memory sticks. I'm in San Francisco and I have a partner in London. In England, recordings that are over 50 years old are in the public domain so we're timing things so that we can release collections of music from the so-called British invasion - Stones, Beatles, Kinks, etc. We figure if we sell these tracks out of Europe -- our website server is in Brussels -- then people in America can buy the tracks as an import. What do we need so that we don't get in trouble? We think you may need a new business plan. British law used to provide for expiration of copyright of recordings after 50 years. In fact, the Beatles 1962 single of Love Me Do b/w P.S. I Love You was one of the last recordings to fall into the public domain. Then, thanks to some kicking and screaming by British labels fearful of enterprises such as yours, the law was changed from 50 years to 70 years. As a result, in Europe, a recording issued in 1963 won’t fall into the public domain until 2034. There is an exception to the rule -- if labels don’t make 50-year+ recordings available for “consumption and purchase,” the artist will be able to claim copyright.
Two more caveats. Even if a recording falls into the public domain, the underlying song copyright--protected for the life of the songwriter plus 70 years -- is not likely public domain. So you will have to obtain mechanical licenses from the music publishers. In addition, music labels are a territorial lot. If they find a company engaging in substantial exports of copyrighted music (that is, recordings that are still protected by copyright in the U.S.) across borders, they will pursue the company with litigation. As a result, you may need to revise your plans -- for example, here's how a Canadian music website handles the public domain issue.