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March 8, 2011
Bill Me
95-5,
the Senate passed S.23, the America Invents Act. With a title like that, it
might as well be called The Semi-Literate Senate Patent Act. Get your boots,
here's the flow: "If we're going to win the global competition by out-innovating
the rest of the world we need a patent system that works in the 21st century,"
crowed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D., Vt.), who
shepherded the bill through the Senate. The corporate
Coalition for 21st
Century Patent Reform collectively cheered.
By dropping the controversial damages cap proviso, the fix may be in for a corresponding House bill to pass.
With an economy likely to be increasingly wobbly from a continuing surge in oil prices caused by a continuing surge for democracy, or its grotesque facsimile, in the Middle East, the hue and cry over economic impulse to do something may sweep this bill under the pen of President Obama, who will sign it. "This long-overdue reform is vital to our ongoing efforts to modernise America's patent laws and reduce the backlog of 700,000 patent applications - which won't just increase transparency and certainty for inventors, entrepreneurs and businesses, but help grow our economy and create good jobs," Obama beamed upon Senate passage.
The wailing and gnashing of teeth by inventor groups has hardly begun. Remember kids, you can't stop progress, but it can steamroll you. Certainly the advertising by politicians for this bill is inventive.
Posted by Patent Hawk at March 8, 2011 11:09 PM | The Patent System