House Judiciary Committee’s Patent Reform Bill is in Need of Reform, Says BIO

PRESS RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Friday, April 15, 2011) – Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) President and CEO Jim Greenwood released the following statement regarding the America Invents Act, H.R. 1249, which passed the House Committee on the Judiciary yesterday:
 
“BIO has consistently praised House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) for his introduction of a comprehensive patent reform bill similar to the bill adopted by the U.S. Senate earlier this month by a nearly unanimous vote.  Unfortunately, given the addition of the Goodlatte supplemental examination amendment, added to the bill during Committee consideration, we have no choice but to oppose floor consideration of the bill until this issue is repaired.

“The supplemental examination provision as passed by the Senate and originally included in the House bill would allow patent holders to seek a review of their issued patents at their own risk.  The Goodlatte amendment undercuts this provision by creating disincentives for patent owners to use the new procedure by having the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) act as quasi-investigative body.

“We commend Chairman Smith for all the work he has done to craft a bill, the America Invents Act, which is a clear improvement over prior House versions of patent reform legislation.  BIO was very supportive of Chairman Smith’s Manager’s Amendment.  We are pleased that the legislation will end, once and for all, the diversion of fees collected by the PTO, allowing the agency to use all of its fees to hire more examiners, reduce the backlog of pending applications, and make other improvements to its operations.  We also commend the inclusion in the bill of many other reforms that will improve the patent system and enhance patent quality, including transition to a “first-to-file” system, the creation of an inter partes review system, and the elimination of other subjective elements of patent law.
 
“Nonetheless, given the importance of adopting a supplemental examination provision much like that which passed the Senate on a bipartisan, 95-5 vote, BIO notes our objection to this bill being considered on the House floor.  We commit to work with Chairman Smith and others to rectify this issue, so that a patent reform bill with broad support can be brought to the floor of the House.”

Advertisement

Patent backlog hinders nation’s job creation

Article from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel with interesting numbers. 

Highlights:

-Many of the missing jobs – hundres of thousands or possibly millions – are buried under the backlog of 1.2 million unprocessed patent applicatoins that have accumulated over the past 10 years at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

-A single U.S. patent can create three to ten jobs. 

-Nothaft estimates more than 2 million new jobs are buried in the backlog

-“Innovation is our competitve advantage… It’s not manufacturing costs.  It’s not labor costs.  It’s innovation and our ability to protect those innovations and turn those innovations into products.”

President Obama’s Plan to Win the Future by Catalyzing Invention, Innovation, and Economic Growth through Patent Reform

The White House Office of Public Engagement released the patent factsheet, “President Obama’s Plan to Win the Future by Catalyzing Invention, Innovation and Economic Growth through Patent Reform,” the night of Obama’s Jan. 25, 2011, State of the Union address.  Here are some highlights.

“ Improve the Operations of the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO): The President’s budget enables the PTO to address a backlog of over 700,000 patent applications.

 Promote U.S. Cooperation with International Patent Standards to Help U.S. Firms to Compete in the Global Economy: By moving towards greater coordination between patent systems, the United States can enable its innovators to receive lower-cost and higher-qualitypatents, enabling them to better compete and protect their inventions around the world.

 Address the Costs of Our Inefficient Patent Litigation System: To improve the patent system, President Obama has pledged to work with Congress to devise a post-grant review system to improve efficiency.”