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 From CNET

A handful of patent lawyers on Friday beat up on large technology companies lobbying for a U.S. patent system revamp, arguing that their efforts could discourage start-ups, prompt foreign competitors to rip off inventions, and tear apart the economy more generally.

There weren't any Silicon Valley interests directly represented during this panel discussion at a conference here hosted by the American Bar Association's intellectual-property law section. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the views expressed by the four attorneys largely mirrored the negative outlook on proposed congressional patent bills adopted by the industries they tend to represent--namely biotechnology, universities, small inventors, and patent-licensing firms.

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