Update on the US Patent Reform
Gerry Elman, attorney for Elman Technology Law, P.C. and IBLS Contributor, provides the following update on the United States Patent Reform currently in the US Congress.
Just before September 7th, the House leadership secured a rule that seriously restricted floor debate on the Patent Reform Bill, so that it could be rammed through with minimal backpressure. Yet in the limited debate time available, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) and Rep. Dana Rorabacher (R-California) staunchly waged a bipartisan opposition, narrowing the margin of victory achieved by the Bill’s sponsors.
On Friday, September 7th, the House of Representatives railroaded through a bill that in Mr. Elman’s view would seriously detract from the constitutionally mandated promotion of “progress in Science and Useful Arts.” Right now, the counterpart Bill in the Senate, namely S.1145, the Patent Reform Act of 2007, is ripe for consideration. Mr. Elman invites Americans to communicate immediately with their Senators urging them to vote AGAINST S.1145.
The good news is that an informal nose count of the Senate seems right now to fall a bit short of the number needed to pass the Bill. But the coalition of powerful information technology companies spearheaded by Microsoft, Intel, Oracle and Time Warner are lobbying hard. Unless strong opposition arises to hold the line and resist further change in the patent statute that coalition could succeed in the Senate as they did in the House. Your voice and the voice of your colleagues need to be heard right now.