Patent Reform Legislation Approved by Full House Judiciary Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2007

CONTACT
David Mack
202-777-3523
dmack@clsdc.com

Final passage by U.S. House next step in most significant overhaul of patent law in 50 years

WASHINGTON – Legislation that would represent the most fundamental patent reform in decades today was unanimously approved by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. The bill would foster greater innovation by American companies and enhance U.S. competitiveness. It now heads to the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives for a vote.

"Today's successful mark-up demonstrates Congress’ seriousness in dealing with the overwhelming need for balanced and comprehensive reform," said Jonathan Yarowsky, counsel to the Coalition for Patent Fairness. "Chairman Conyers, Ranking Member Smith and Representative Berman have clearly demonstrated that they are leaders on patent reform. We look forward to working with all members for swift passage on the House floor.”

The full committee mark-up follows a successful Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property mark-up in May where the bill was considered and passed by voice vote one month after its introduction. 

A broad and diverse cross-section of U.S. businesses, leading legal scholars, economists and policymakers has recognized the need for patent reform. Leading legal scholars and economists have spoken out about how urgent the need is for patent reform and opinion-leading publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and The Washington Post, have editorialized in support of passing patent reform legislation without delay. 

Moreover, the U.S. Supreme Court recently has found it necessary to review an unusual number of patent-related cases in order to correct – often with unanimous rulings – imbalances in the judicial interpretation of core principles of patent law and procedure.  However, only Congress can implement the comprehensive reform needed to restore balance in a number of areas of the patent system.  The Patent Reform Act of 2007 will do just that.

The Coalition for Patent Fairness supports patent reform legislation that:

·        Balance the apportionment of damages. The standard for calculating damages should be based on the fair share of the patent’s contribution to the value of a product, and not on the value of a whole product that has many other components.

·        Establish fair standards for punitive damages. Awarding punitive, triple damages for “willful” patent infringement should be reserved for cases of the most egregious conduct, as required by the U.S. Supreme Court for virtually all other punitive damages.

·        Restrict forum shopping. Cases should be brought in courts with some reasonable connection to the case and not, by gaming the system, in courts solely because they historically favor patent claims.

·        Improve patent quality. The system should promote quality patents by providing a meaningful second chance for the experts at the PTO to review potentially problematic patents in a timely manner, and should promote sharing of information with the PTO to improve the process and increase innovation.

About the Coalition for Patent Fairness

The Coalition for Patent Fairness is committed to the passage of patent legislation that will foster innovation and economic growth. Representing a broad range of companies and trade associations in the financial services, technology, energy, chemical, manufacturing and media industries, the Coalition’s members include Apple, Amazon.com, Autodesk, Business Software Alliance, Chevron, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Dell, Electrolux, Google, HP, Information Technology Industry Council, Intel, Micron Technology Inc., Microsoft, Oracle, Palm Inc., RIM, SAP, Symantec, TechNet, Time Warner and Visa.  For more information, visit www.patentfairness.org.

Comments

[Ogan Gurel]

I have written about - including in the Wall Street Journal (see: http://blog.aesisgroup.com/2006/04/17/innovators-have-rights-too.aspx) - the implications of patent reform for medical technology focusing in particular, on the growing area of convergent medical technologies. Basically, this new patent reform bill will be more in favor of such combinatorial innovation. For a more detailed review of this, please see the article:

"Patent Reform Act of 2007: Innovation, Implications and the American Inventor" which you can find at:

http://blog.aesisgroup.com/2007/07/19/patent-reform-act-of-2007-innovation-implications-and-the-american-inventor.aspx

I’d be interested in your perspectives on this important topic – especially as they relate to convergent medical technology (see: http://blog.aesisgroup.com/2007/07/10/convergent-medical-technology-what-is-it-and-why-all-the-fuss.aspx).