Robert Plotkin, Patent Lawyer and MIT, is the author of the newly released book “Genie Inside the Machine…” The book Is really innovative in bringing technological advances to the world of patent law. 
A recent article in Technology in Review summarizes the book and states Plotkin’s assessment of the future in patented technology.
Genie in the machine describes how the digital age is expanding the possibilities of human invention. He gives the example of the Oral B toothbrush as a product of software design. But there aren’t just toothbrushes in software production; Plotkin says there are many patents already granted to other products produced in part by software.
The problem is that the patent system that has suited our industrial society for 100’s of years is now becoming outdated and doesn’t compensate for our technological advances. The problem became apparent in the 1990’s when software produces fought for control over the market and thousands of patents were granted. Plotkin says that the patent system has to be revolutionized so that trivial patents are not granted, stifling real ingenuity.
The author does think that this is a problem that deserves our immediate attention. With hope for the future, Robert Plotkin assures you that this groundbreaking technology will not replace human ingenuity, but rather augment it, enabling people to boost their inventive abilities to previously undreamed-of heights. Without talented individuals to communicate effectively with computers (or rub the lamp), the genie is useless. “One slip of the tongue and you may find yourself turned into a toad rather than bathed in riches,” he explains.
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