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| Saturday, August 28, 1999 | Charlotte-Our
Town and surrounding communities City Editor: Chris Porter 941.255.8134 |
Sun ~ Herald |
| A crusader for inventors | ||
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It's been 12 years since Frank Lukasik worked for the Air
Force. But he is still on a mission. The Punta Gorda patent
attorney, who was the chief patent counsel for the Air Force
Systems Command until 1987, is on a mission to have Congress
repeal an expensive maintenance fee on patents. Lukasik says
the fee, which can cost inventors thousands of dollars, is
stifling innovation and allowing companies - foreign and
domestic - to profit legally from the hard work of thousands
of U.S. inventors. "What Congress has done is grant someone a patent and then take it away after four years. It's taking private property without compensation. That's wrong," Lukasik said. The maintenance fee was established by Congress in 1980. It requires patent holders to pay from $470 to $2,910, depending on the size of the company and the number of years the patent has been in force, to keep the patent. Lukasik has enlisted the help of U.S. Rep. Bill H McCollum, R-Orlando, to kill the maintenance fees. In a July 23 letter to McCollum, Lukasik wrote: "The Government grants exclusive rights for 17 years to an invention to an inventor in exchange for publishing the invention to the whole world. On the other hand, the government takes away these constitutionally guaranteed rights for non-payment of a maintenance fee." He also has recruited Rep. Porter Goss, R-Sanibel, to his cause. Goss wrote to him in 1997: "A fundamental principle of our free-enterprise system is that inventors have a right to receive fair compensation for the products they create." McCollum received the July letter, but his legislative aide, Shannen Gravitte, said with the busy budget process and the August recess, the representative has not had time to consider what action, if any, he will take. Lukasik is front and center in the daily battle of inventors trying to bring products to market. In addition to his work as a patent attorney, he is a member and former board director of the Fort Myers-based Edison Inventors Association. Lukasik said some clients' efforts have been nearly torpedoed by the maintenance fees before they are able to profit from their inventions. He pointed to Cindy Michaels, who invented ergonomic men's underwear, basically souped-up skivvies. "If she didn't have investors, she wouldn't have made it," Lukasik said. "It took her nine years to make a profit." His client, now running a manufacturing plant in Longworth, Fla., paid $1,420 in maintenance fees on top of the nearly $1,000 in patent-issuing fees to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Not every invention is going to make an impact like Edison's light bulb or Bill Gates' computer operating system. But to the individual inventor, the ideas have special meaning. "These are my children when I get a patent," said Lukasik, whose inventions include a label applicator and a punchcard he designed when he worked for IBM. He currently is working on an attachment for string trimmers that would cut grass around sprinkler heads without destroying the sprinkler. Lukasik's clients are busy, too. They've worked on such existing or potential products as a swimming pool tether that allows you to swim in place, a rear-view mirror for snorkel masks and an ant-proof dog bowl. Ant-proof dog bowl? Yep, North Fort Myers resident Daniel Tharp's invention is a dog bowl with a moat around it, the idea being ants can't swim. Whether Lukasik sinks or swims in the sometimes turbulent waters of Washington remains to be seen. He knows his way around the halls of power, having testified before Congress to protect sensitive military information from disclosure through the Freedom of Information Act. One thing is certain: Inventors now have on their side a man with a mission. You can e-mail Brian Gleason at gleason@sunletter.com BRIAN GLEASON Columnist |
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