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July 18, 2007
Momentum
Moving
towards passage, the full House Judiciary Committee unanimously tossed the Patent Reform Act
of 2007 to the House floor earlier today,
while the Senate debates the
legislation today, with upshot tomorrow.
A number of computer technology companies, ongoing targets for infringement suits, coalesced into lobbying groups, including the Coalition for Patent Fairness and Business Software Alliance; hankering to elude patent enforcement, they are delighted with the bill's progress. "Today's successful mark-up demonstrates Congress’ seriousness in dealing with the overwhelming need for balanced and comprehensive reform," tooted Jonathan Yarowsky, counsel to the Coalition for Patent Fairness.
Other companies that rely upon patents for their business model, including cell phone innovation gnome Qualcomm, and major pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, are askance. Kevin Kearns, president of the U.S. Business and Industry Council, ostensibly on behalf of the manufacturing sector and small companies, tore into the haste of passing the Act, calling it "a rush project... that could cripple American innovation."
Kearns in the Baltimore Sun:
At the recent Senate hearing, not a single manufacturing firm was invited to testify - even though technological innovation and industrial advancement are closely intertwined. Indeed, U.S. manufacturers undertake 60 percent to 70 percent of the nation's research and development and hold 60 percent of its patents.
Lawyers, bankers and leading high-tech firms such as Microsoft and Intel dominated the hearing on patent reform. However, smaller enterprises are the true drivers of innovation. About one-third of all patent applications are made by independent inventors, small manufacturers, universities and nonprofit research groups. Their efforts are crucial for leading-edge scientific advances, and their views should be heard.
Many large IT companies... want current law rewritten to make challenges to patents easier, and they want to curb "abusive litigation" by patent holders protecting their rights. If Congress creates a new, open-ended post-patent review procedure to challenge the validity of a patent throughout its life, the benefits to patent-holders become very uncertain. Incentives to seek patents would be weakened, venture capitalists would face higher risks when backing new ideas, and business models that depend on patents would be discarded.
The Patent Prospector has covered various aspects of the proposed legislation -
Damages apportionment: June 18, 2007; June 13, 2007; May 23, 2007; May 11, 2007
Venue restriction: July 13, 2007
Various aspects of the proposed legislation: June 20, 2007; May 17, 2007; May 15, 2007; April 19, 2007; April 15, 2007
Who's driving the legislative effort: July 13, 2007; July 4, 2007; March 28, 2007; December 2, 2006
Posted by Patent Hawk at July 18, 2007 2:26 PM | The Patent System