Entrepreneur News

Angel Investing Up But Fewer Deals

Total angel investments were up to $11 billion for the first half of 2005, just under last year's investment levels at that time, according to a study released last month by the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire. Funding went to about 26,000 entrepreneurial endeavors, of which 48 percent were start-ups or seed funding. That figure is down 11 percent from the previous year. Life sciences garnered the most funding, with 20 percent of all angel investments, followed by biotech (17.5 percent), software (17 percent) and IT services (13 percent).

Patent Change Afoot in D.C.

Facing a backlog of some 600,000 pending patent applications, the patent office has come under increasing criticism for making applicants wait more than two years for patent decisions. To speed up the process, the House Judiciary Committee approved legislation on November 9 that would increase patent application fees to generate extra revenue for the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). But a key provision intended to prevent the use of patent fees for other"first to file" purposes may create opposition to the bill. The PTO would have to refund all fee revenues that exceed its appropriation.

According to Congressional Quarterly, the Patent Reform Act of 2005 (HR 2791), sponsored by Judiciary Chairman James F. Sensenbrenner Jr., (R-Wis.), was approved by voice vote with bipartisan support. It would make permanent a new patent and trademark fee schedule enacted late last year to provide additional resources for an agency that lawmakers say is overworked and under funded. A similar bill passed the House last year, but dropped all language referring to the PTO retaining all collected fees.

Of concern to inventors, however, is the legislation's intent to change the American system to a "first to file" standard, common outside the U.S. The PTO now awards patents to those who can show they first invented the idea or device. Patents could also be challenged during the first nine months after they are issued, creating an opportunity for endless lawsuits brought by large companies, some fear.

The U.S. Small Business Administration recently released a report that found small companies hold far more patents per employee than larger businesses. Scientists and engineers with ten or more patents were particularly attracted to small firms, the study found.