The America Invents Act of 2011: Reform or Regression?

As most of us in the patent community know, this week the Senate is debating the “Patent Reform Bill 2011” aka “The America Invents Act of 2011”.  Based on the information being circulated in the blogosphere, it appears Patent Reform is likely to be a reality.  Whether that is a good or bad thing is highly debatable.  I have compiled a list of blog posts from the last 48 hours that highlight what has occurred during the Senate debate thus far and what the various players have to say about the legislation.  In no particular order, here they are….

1.  Senate votes to strip down patent reform bill (Reuters)

2.  Senate debates patent reform as more voices weigh in (Washington Post)

3.  Patent Reform Gaining Steam, Debate Continues in U.S. Senate (IPWatchdog)

4.  Patent Reform – An Important Amendment to the Bill (Patently-O)

5.  Senate Votes on Two Patent Reform Amendments (Senatus)

6.  Patent Reform Amendments Introduced (via Patents Post Grant)

7.  Delivering innovation and jobs through patent reform (The Hill’s Congress Blog)

 

Foley & Lardner: Senate Introduces Patent Reform Act of 2011

On Tuesday, the Senate introduced the Patent Reform Act of 2011.  While the latest version is similar to previous patent reform bills, there are some significant changes made in the 2011 proposed legislation.  Our friends at Foley & Lardner sent in this alert discussing the new bill and how the House plans to address patent reform in 2011.

On January 25, 2011, Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced the latest bill on patent reform legislation—the Patent Reform Act of 2011.  According to Sen. Leahy, the new legislation is based on prior legislation introduced during the 109^thCongress, as well as compromises reached in March 2010 (the Managers’ Amendment to S. 515). A January 20, 2011 press release on Sen. Leahy’s Web site states, “[p]romoting economic growth continues to be a top priority for both Democrats and Republicans, and patent reform is part of that effort.” When introducing the bill, Sen. Leahy explained that the new legislation is intended to accomplish three primary goals: (1) transition to a first-to-file system; (2) improve patent quality; and (3) provide more certainty in litigation. The Act also includes provisions to limit standing and damages in false patent marking actions. However, Sen. Leahy did not directly address how he intends to resolve key differences with the House that carry over from last year’s stalled bill (S. 515), which contains many of the same provisions as the new bill. Meanwhile, the House has announced a new hearing that it will conduct on the link between patent reform and job creation, suggesting that it intends to obtain more input before considering legislative changes. Several of the key provisions of the recently introduced Senate bill are discussed in more detail below. (more…)