英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

Patents and Inventions

时间:2005-06-03 16:00来源:互联网 提供网友:vipnoble   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)


By Jerilyn Watson

Broadcast: October 6, 2003
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
An office in the United States government has helped protect 1)the property rights of inventors for more than two-hundred years. Its job is to support the progress of human creativity. I'm Faith Lapidus.
VOICE TWO:
And I'm Richard Rael. The 2)Patent and 3)Trademark1 Office is our subject this week on the VOA Special English program, THIS IS AMERICA.
(THEME)
VOICE ONE:
Every week, thousands of people send their inventions to the United States Patent and Trademark Office near Washington, D-C. The Patent Office examines each invention. Those that are judged to be new and useful will receive a patent.
The term of a patent is up to twenty years. During that time, the inventor controls the legal right to make, use or sell the invention in the United States. After twenty years, anyone can make or sell the invention.
VOICE TWO:
Patents are meant to protect the chances of inventors to make money from their creations. A patent gives both inventors and investors2 time to develop and market a product. Patents also provide a way to share and spread technical information.
VOICE TWO (CONT):
In addition to patents, the office is responsible for trademark protection. A trademark is anything that helps to identify the ownership of goods. It could be a name, sign or 4)device. Trademark rights may be used to prevent others from using a similar mark. Yet, such rights may not prevent others from making or selling the same kinds of goods under a clearly different mark.
(MUSIC BRIDGE)
VOICE ONE:
Almost since its creation, the United States has been seen as a country of inventors. It is not surprising that the founders3 of the United States included patent protection in the Constitution. They wrote that Congress should support the progress of science by giving inventors all rights to their discoveries, for a limited time.
In seventeen-ninety, President George Washington signed into law the first Patent Act of the United States. Under the measure, inventors asked the Secretary of State to consider a request for a patent. Next, the secretary would discuss the request with the secretary of war and the attorney general. They would decide if the invention or discovery was useful and important. At that time, both the president and the secretary of state signed patents.
VOICE TWO:
The first American patent for an invention was given in seventeen-ninety to Samuel Hopkins. Mister Hopkins invented a better way to make the chemical 5)potash. As the number of patent requests grew, it became necessary to develop an organized process to deal with all the requests. The job of receiving and approving patents was given to a group of State Department employees in seventeen-ninety-three.
In eighteen-oh-two, a State Department official named William Thornton was appointed to serve as the first clerk. He was the only person responsible for receiving and recording4 patent requests and approving requests. His office became the first Patent Office.
Since then, more than six-million patents for inventions have been approved. They have included Thomas Edison's electric light, Alexander Graham Bell's telephone and Orville and Wilbur Wright's flying machine.
VOICE ONE:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has grown to fourteen agencies in the Department of Commerce. The agency occupies several buildings in Arlington, Virginia. It has more than five-thousand 6)permanent employees.
The Patent and Trademark Office has one of the largest collections of scientific and technical knowledge in the world. Each year, the agency receives hundreds of thousands of requests for patents and trademarks5.
(MUSIC BRIDGE)
VOICE TWO:
Suppose you have an idea for an invention. How do you get a patent to protect your rights? The Patent and Trademark Office says the first step is to record your idea on paper. You must be sure no one else has invented a device just like yours. So you must examine the descriptions of similar devices that already have patents. This can be a big job and take a long time. Many inventors pay patent lawyers to do this job.
The Patent and Trademark Office will examine your request once you know that the idea does not have a patent already. Because the agency gets so many requests, the examination process may last two or more years.
You do not have to show that your invention works to receive a patent. All you must show is that your invention is a new idea. For example, Thomas Edison is famous for inventing the electric light 7)bulb. Yet the light bulb design for which he received a patent never worked.
VOICE ONE:
Sometimes, two or more inventors get the same idea at the same time. This happened with the telephone. One of the men involved was Alexander Graham Bell. The people who invested money in his project told him not to work on the telephone's design. They did not believe they could earn any money from the invention. However, Bell continued to work on the telephone. He arrived at the Patent Office just two hours before a competing inventor got there.
Elisha Gray had developed exactly the same idea for a telephone. He, too, did not believe the invention would be very important. Yet he went to the Patent Office when he heard that Bell was requesting a patent. Elisha Gray was too late. Alexander Graham Bell received the patent for inventing the telephone.
(MUSIC BRIDGE)
VOICE TWO:
What kinds of inventions can receive patents? American law names many kinds of things. These include new machines, methods and products. New uses for -- or improvements to -- old inventions. And new, improved kinds of plants and animals.
An American patent protects an invention only in the United States. But you do not have to be an American citizen to receive a United States patent. In two-thousand-one, nine of the ten companies that received the largest number of patents were foreign.
VOICE ONE:
Almost every nation in the world has a patent system of some kind to protect inventors. Most governments give a patent to an inventor who is the first to ask for it. Until recently, many countries honored an international treaty on patents. The treaty was signed more than one-hundred years ago.
In nineteen-ninety-five, the World Trade Organization was established. W-T-O member countries are required to provide patent protection for inventions, while permitting exceptions. Under W-T-O rules, patent protection has to last at least twenty years from the date the patent request was first made.
(MUSIC BRIDGE)
VOICE TWO:
In two-thousand-two the United States Patent and Trademark Office celebrated6 its two-hundredth anniversary. President Bush said the agency has been an important influence in the nation's development.
Now, in its third century, the Patent and Trademark Office faces a number of issues. One is what to do with the growing number of patent requests awaiting consideration. The agency is slowly working its way through hundreds of thousands of requests.
One problem is a lack of money. The Patent and Trademark Office does not keep all the money it collects. During recent years, Congress has taken millions of dollars to spend on other government programs.
VOICE ONE:
Former Congressman7 James Rogan [RO-gan] was named director of the Patent and Trademark Office in two-thousand one. Mister Rogan proposed a plan to reform the patent process. The plan was amended8 after discussions between agency officials and users of the Patent and Trademark Office. Earlier this year, a subcommittee in the House of Representatives approved reform 8)legislation. But the future of this measure is not clear.
VOICE ONE (CONT):
The legislation would increase the money that the Patent and Trademark Office collects to work on requests. It would also give the office the power to decide how to use the money. Supporters say the measure would result in major improvement to the system.
But critics say the increased costs would reduce investment in scientific research and development in new technologies. They also say the costs would stop some independent inventors and small companies from using a system long tied to progress in America.
(THEME)
VOICE TWO:
Our program was written by George Grow and Jerilyn Watson. It was produced by Caty Weaver9. I'm Richard Rael.
VOICE ONE:
And I'm Faith Lapidus.

注释:
1) the property rights  n.财产权
2) patent [5pAtEnt] n.专利权, 专利品
3) trademark [5treidmB:k] n.商标
4) device [di5vais] n.设计, 图案
5) potash [5pCtAF] n.(化)碳酸钾, 苛性钾
6) permanent [5pE:mEnEnt] adj.永久的, 持久的
7) bulb [bQlb] n.球形物
8) legislation [7ledVis5leiFEn] n.立法, 法律的制定(或通过)

 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 trademark Xndw8     
n.商标;特征;vt.注册的…商标
参考例句:
  • The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
  • The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。
2 investors dffc64354445b947454450e472276b99     
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
  • a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会
3 founders 863257b2606659efe292a0bf3114782c     
n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
  • The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句
4 recording UktzJj     
n.录音,记录
参考例句:
  • How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间?
  • I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。
5 trademarks 3d5cfd3d5e627e33b27fadb6b405a1dd     
n.(注册)商标( trademark的名词复数 );(人的行为或衣着的)特征,标记
参考例句:
  • Motrin and Nuprin are trademarks of brands of ibuprofen tablets. Nuprin和Motrin均是布洛芬的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Many goods in China have the trademarks of a panda. 中国的许多商品都带有熊猫的商标。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 celebrated iwLzpz     
adj.有名的,声誉卓著的
参考例句:
  • He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
  • The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。
7 Congressman TvMzt7     
n.(美)国会议员
参考例句:
  • He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
  • The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。
8 Amended b2abcd9d0c12afefe22fd275996593e0     
adj. 修正的 动词amend的过去式和过去分词
参考例句:
  • He asked to see the amended version. 他要求看修订本。
  • He amended his speech by making some additions and deletions. 他对讲稿作了些增删修改。
9 weaver LgWwd     
n.织布工;编织者
参考例句:
  • She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快,而且布的质量很好。
  • The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴