Vandana Shiva

Two elements have had critical influence in shaping US laws and hence in shaping global laws. The first is the myth of 'discovery' that goes hand-in-hand with the original definition of the scope of letters patent that allowed it to be said that Columbus 'discovered' America. The second is the myth of 'ignorance as innovation'. For example, if somebody in Europe were operating a machine and someone in the US independently and without knowledge of that existence in good faith developed his/her own invention, which was essentially the same machine, the fact that a similar machine was already operating in Europe would not prevent him/her from obtaining a patent in the US. The European invention would not be considered prior art in US law. This is categorically stated in the Connecticut law which treats invention as 'bringing in the supply of good from foreign parts, that is not as yet of use among us'.