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Dirk Tomsin
Director of Projects
US Inventor
Dirk Tomsin currently holds the position of Project Director with US Inventor, Inc. Dirk started his career in sales, leading him to a position as Commercial Director. He later went on to work in the banking sector for a Maltese bank, until his entrepreneurial spirit took over and he founded The Belgian, a sports nutrition company, and owns CrossFit Untapped in Colorado together with his wife Molly Metz, whose jump rope patents were unjustly cancelled by the USPTO. The effects of this detrimental experience led Dirk to the organization US Inventor, where he rooted himself into the education and the importance of US intellectual property rights. Dirk now uses his skills and passion for innovation, advocating for strong patent rights.
Recent Articles by Dirk Tomsin
The PREVAIL Act Won’t Work Unless PTAB Incentives are Balanced
The PREVAIL Act addresses current rules that enable gamesmanship at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) by huge corporations against small inventors, startups and other patent owners, and that increase invalidation rates. It introduces standing requirements, establishes a clear and convincing evidence standard to invalidate a patent, ensures a code of conduct is put in place for administrative patent judges (APJs), and more. While these changes are well-intended, due to the PTAB’s perverse incentive structure, the PREVAIL Act will only be marginally effective, and may have no real effect at all.
Using AI to Give Inventors a Leg Up on Big Tech
In April, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) requested public input on an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM). The Request for Comments (RFC) allowed the public to voice their opinion on the proposed rules, including hundreds of real, authentic inventors. In the past, US Inventor has asked its members to use their voices and write comments for the USPTO’s requests. Typically, these requests generate at least 100 responses from USI’s members. This time, USI decided to level the playing field and give its members a chance to speak as loudly as its adversaries. We generated nearly 2,400 real comments from inventors, patent holders and concerned individuals.
Legislation Aimed at Fixing Injunctive Relief Would Essentially Codify eBay
In 2015, China launched its 2025 Initiative listing all the technologies and industries it wants to control by 2025. So far, they have been successful in leading 37 of 44 technologies critical to economic growth and national security. The nation that dominates these technologies will determine the fate of all nations. In the past, the United States led the world in technology, but today it is China. How did this happen? This damage was caused by a series of big hits by the courts, congress and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). The first big hit was eBay vs. MercExchange (eBay) in 2006. In order to obtain an injunction, a patent holder must prove that they not only have a patented product on the market, but also the ability to distribute that product. eBay let loose massive predatory infringement, killing off startups, the biggest competitive threat to Big Tech and many other industries.