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SEC Edgar & Patents
- To: carl@radio.com
- Subject: SEC Edgar & Patents
- From: "Michael O'Connell" <moc@clark.net>
- Date: Sun, 13 Aug 1995 11:15:22 -0400 (EDT)
Dear Mr. Malmud:
Saturday morning I read on clari.apbl.briefs that town.hall.org would no longer carry SEC Edgar and Patent documents. I was very disappointed to read this. I had intended to send you a short note of support but find that I have much to say about this and I think that you may find what I have to say worthwhile. I hope that you take the time to read this.
I am an independent technology analyst. Among other resources, I use SEC 10K/10Q reports and patents for information. I found the patent searching on town.hall.org to be educational but of limited value since the database is so small (1994 & 1995) and drawings are unavailable. The latter is a serious problem with the on line services including Derwent, Questel/Orbit, and STN. I do most of my patent searching at the PTO in Arlington, VA.
But the SEC Edgar documents are probably the most valuable resource on the Internet. Most 10K reports include good descriptions of a company's products without much hype. 10K reports also indicate the future direction of a technology as perceived by a specific company. Generally, if one can find a specific company whose business is predominantly the technology in question, other companies which produce the same product or provide the same service will be listed in the competitor information portion of a 10K report.
There is a wave of sentiment in our society that government should be as small as possible and that private industry should perform services that the government now performs. But there are functions which the government can perform better than private industry. An analogous situation to this can be seen by the comparing the Library of Congress and US PTO Public Search Room to the SEC Public Search Room. The former institutions are eminent examples of free and easy access to information. I use both on a regular basis; both are operated by the US Government. However, the SEC Public Search is a completely different facility. I have used it twice and both times I felt subservient to Disclosure Inc's interest in making money by making copies of SEC public documents.
Regarding this issue, I sent e-mail to Vice President Gore and Representative Gingrich on Saturday. I plan to send letters to SEC Chairman Levitt, Patent Commissioner Lehman, and Commerce Secretary Brown next week.
I am unable to donate money at this time. But I am located in the Washington, D.C. Area and am able to donate time. If this would be of benefit, please have someone contact me.
Keep up the good work,
Mike O'Connell moc@clark.net
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