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| Proposal: Patent Refom Act of 2007 |
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| By PatentMonkey on 4/18/2007 12:49 PM |
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 Today, the House and Senate jointly announced a proposal to reform concerns about the patent system (copy here).
The proposed draft amendment to Section 35 includes:
1. First to file instead of first to invent
2. Rights of the patent owner to claim damages - raising the bar for willful infringement, removing an invention's claims for damages on prior art, unless proof can be made that the invention is critical to the market's adoption
3. Patent quality including Peer to Patent's pre-issuance review and post-grant procedures after issuance.
Lobbying positioning press releases have been issued as a result:
The Coalition for Patent Fairness noted approval of the measure's key areas, including:
* 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.
Additionally, the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform with members such as 3M and P&G noted that they had a number of concerns that could impact the basis by which all industries operate today and Congress needs to exercise caution as during the legislative review process.
A number of groups have direct experience on opposing sides of infringement cases such as the concerns of the pharma industry's costly and lengthy approval process versus the speedy development cycle and intertwined development of the software tech industry.
Our vantage point on patent reform include: 1) the fair valuation of patents in context to their worth; and 2) assuring balance between entities with financial resources that can afford to support lengthy and complex review and issuance procedures that smaller entities or individuals may not be able to navigate and afford.
Many proposals have been crafted in the past decade and given the immediate lobbying response to today's announcement, many more iterations will follow.
See the Washington Posts write up earlier today: Patently at Odds
Update: A good overview at Patently-O. |
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Congress Turns to Patent Reform
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By TrackBack on
4/19/2007 9:20 AM
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Yesterday, Senators Leahy (D-Vt) and Hatch (R-Utah), and Representatives Berman (D-Calif.) and Smith (R-Texas) announced their new Patent Reform Act. You can read their press release on the Act here. The Act is very far reaching and is worth review,...
# Chicago IP Litigation Blog
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Re: Proposal: Patent Refom Act of 2007
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By Anonymous on
1/17/2008 9:55 PM
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Re: Proposal: Patent Refom Act of 2007
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By Anonymous on
2/2/2008 12:01 PM
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Re: Proposal: Patent Refom Act of 2007
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By Anonymous on
3/7/2008 9:39 AM
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