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Dan Ravicher
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Dan Ravicher received an Echoing Green Fellowship in 2003 and launched the Public Patent Foundation to help entrepreneurs fight against "undeserved patents."
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Dan Ravicher received an Echoing Green Fellowship in 2003. To tackle the problem of how patents are used to stymie social entrepreneurs, he launched PubPat – the Public Patent Foundation. The organization represents the public to stop harm caused by "undeserved patents," those granted to firms that ultimately force entrepreneurs into paying them off to avoid a lawsuit.Dan Ravicher thinks that the system is skewed toward special interests that use patents to deny the public and entrepreneurs the benefits of creativity. The Patent Office often mistakenly grants many of these patents. Dan and PubPat's lawyers negotiate or even litigate to block undeserved patents or stop their holders from using them to interfere with social entrepreneurs. The Echoing Green Fellowship not only gave Dan the financial support to start PubPat, but also the emotional community support he needed.
His advice to fellow social entrepreneurs: “Give yourself a break. Don't be hard on yourself when you can't achieve your goals as quickly as you want. Work hard, do your best and stay with it.”
CLICK on the player above to listen to his interview.
