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Patent Reform September 10, 2007

Posted by ianmartinez in : What's New?, Policy , trackback

As predicted by Andrew Noyes of Tech Daily (subscription only) last week in the featured interview for TIA Network, the House passed its patent reform bill only days after it left committee.

From WaPo:

The House yesterday passed the most comprehensive patent reform in half a century, delivering a victory for computer technology and financial services companies and leaving drug companies, small inventors, and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office bracing for a bigger fight before the bill hits the Senate floor.

Because the bill’s supporters could only muster a 220-175 victory, don’t expect any veto overrides on this one — a potential derailer since the White House has already come out against the bill:

The Administration strongly supports the passage of patent modernization legislation that fairly balances the interests of all innovators by improving patent quality and reducing patent litigation costs. In addition, the Administration appreciates that the House Judiciary Committee addressed many of the issues raised in the Department of Commerce views letter of May 16, 2007. However, the Administration continues to oppose H.R. 1908’s limits on the discretion of a court in determining damages adequate to compensate for an infringement. Making this change to a reasonably well-functioning patent legal system is unwarranted and risks reducing the rewards from innovation — a result that would undercut the other useful reforms in this bill. The Administration therefore opposes H.R. 1908 unless it is appropriately revised to address this concern. The Administration will work with Congress to address these concerns as the legislative process continues.

Nonetheless, this is an issue that kind of came out of left field and is already getting floor votes, so stay tuned.

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