One of the things that strikes you when you read Eric Berger’s Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days that Launched SpaceX is how much of rocket launches was reinvented by SpaceX. As a rank new-comer into the field, SpaceX reinvented space exploration by pioneering reusable rockets (Watch the recent video of SpaceX using “chopsticks” to catch a returning booster), drastically reducing launch costs, accelerating development through rapid iteration, and opening up space to commercial ventures and frequent access. Compared to NASA’s 4 to 5 launches a year, SpaceX may very well have 148 launches this year - they have already crossed the 100 mark. It is easy to see why SpaceX reinvented rocket launches.
If you turn to the reinvention of something more down to earth - literally has its face on the floor - you can think of how Dyson revolutionized the humble vacuum cleaner, something no one thought was capable of any further improvement. The struggle on reinventing the vacuum cleaner is captured in two of James Dyson’s autobiographies: Against the Odds: An Autobiography (1997) and Invention: A Life (2021). Dyson as a company reinvented vacuum cleaners by introducing bagless cyclonic technology for consistent suction, reducing waste, and combining innovative engineering with sleek, user-friendly designs.
Things simply get reinvented when someone is unhappy about the status quo. Elon Musk and James Dyson are two pioneers who reinvented their respective fields as they were not happy with the way things are. We were not happy with the way the bare act was, and we went ahead to reinvent it.
We launched our first bare act covering the Patents Act, 1970 with Rules and case laws in 2018. We printed multiple copies and sold them out. On our website and on Amazon. We received refreshing reviews on how useful and handy it was, how pleasing the bi-coloured layout was, how helpful the cross-references were and much more. It was so good that we kept getting requests for reprints and for the launch of new editions. But then something else happened.
The Patents Act and the Rules underwent multiple amendments. Since 2005 we have had 11 amendments. In other words, we had amendments in 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024. That almost makes it impossible for any publisher to invest in printing hard copies in a sustainable way. And there is no guarantee on when the next amendment is likely to be. Which means once the most updated bare act is released, all it takes is just one more amendment to make it outdated.
This needed another reinvention.
We concluded the best way for the bare act to exist in a constantly changing field like patent law is as an eBook. For all those who miss the hard copy, we are with you. Unless we can come up with a viable print-on-demand printing solution, we feel the LexCampus Handbook on Patent Law should exist as an e-book. We hope you will find it useful.
Link to the purchasing the e-book: https://www.lexcampus.org/product-page/handbook-on-patent-law-2024-edition
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