Legislation Introduced to Prohibit Patenting of Tax Planning Strategies
One of the more absurd developments in the tax planning arena during recent years has been the move by some practitioners to obtain patents for certain tax planning strategies. If successful, the applicants would be in a position to prohibit other practitioners and their clients from making use of the patented strategies - some of which, while creative, do not rank as discoveries along with penicilin, the computer microchip or a blockbuster pharmaceutical - or force them to pay royalties for using particular strategies. Congress, for once, appears poised to re-introduce a dose of sanity. It has been reported that the House Judiciary Committee approved an amendment to the Patent Reform Act that would essentially put a halt to this silly practice. Here's hoping that common sense, and the Boucher-Goodlatte amendment, prevails.
