Patent Law Practice Center

Are Additional Patent Reforms Necessary?

For better or for worse, Congress hasn’t asked whether additional patent reforms are necessary. Rather, they decided that additional patent reforms were necessary and the only discussion worth having was about the implementation details for that legislation. This ‘legislate first, ask questions later’ approach is evidenced by the fact that the Innovation Act was submitted in late October 2013, marked-up in late November 2013, and passed by the House in early December 2013. Before we were even out of 2013, the Senate held its first hearing on the legislation, a companion bill submitted by Senator Patrick Leahy.

Todd Dickinson, who is the Executive Director of the AIPLA (American Intellectual Property Law Association) and a former Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Dickinson recommended that Congress take no action now. His argument is persuasive — the America Invents Act requires the USPTO to study the effects of that law, which was a major revision to the patent laws. The report isn’t even due to Congress until 2015. So why rush to make more changes now?

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7 Questions with Todd Dickinson

Recently, I published a three-part series that took an inside look at the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA).  See Behind the Scenes at the AIPLA. After my day inside the AIPLA, I sat down with AIPLA Executive Director Todd Dickinson for an interview.  See Part 1 and Part 2.

What follows is part of my conversation with Todd Dickinson….highlights, if you will.

Dickinson on AIPLA Amicus Briefs:

“Since I’ve been here, our amicus briefs have been cited from the bench of the Supreme Court twice.  And  CAFC judges have said  that our briefs are often helpful or important in shaping  their eventual opinions.  And that’s how we see ourselves, what we’ve committed to.  It’s not that we have all the answers; to the contrary, we feel that we take a balanced and measured approach that helps lead policy formation and implementation.”

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