Patent Reform & Campaign Cash
An article in CongressDaily's AM Edition on Friday notes that Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., is an opponent of legislation intended to rework how patents are granted and litigated in the United States. Rohrabacher said at a House Science Committee hearing that the measures currently moving through the House and Senate have been driven by major high-tech firms that are "trying to destroy the patent system." The story points out that Rohrabacher's top 2008 campaign donor was Intellectual Ventures, a firm founded by Nathan Myhrvold, a former Microsoft executive who has been highly critical of changing the patent system. He also accepted money from manufacturers -- another sector that has panned portions of the legislation.
On the flip side, it is worth noting that backers of the bills -- House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., and Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy -- have each benefited from the generosity of companies that have been lobbying for the legislation's passage. Conyers has accepted money from News Corp.; Berman has received funds from News Corp., Time Warner, Warner Music Group and others; and Leahy has benefited from TechNet, Time Warner, Microsoft, Google, and Cisco Systems. The Senate bill passed Leahy's committee last month and is awaiting floor time. Conyers held a hearing on his bill in April.
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