Lawmakers backing a stalled patent overhaul bill are looking at fresh ways to move the measure by the end of the year, despite GOP opposition, CongressDaily reported Friday. The bill, which cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in April, seeks to address the Patent and Trademark Office's chronic application backlog and improve internal efficiencies. It would also change the protocol for challenging patents - a move that has divided small innovators, the life-sciences sector and the IT industry.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy said Thursday he wants to work with Majority Leader Harry Reid to schedule debate before the end of the year. Leahy made his comments the same day that PTO Director David Kappos told the American Intellectual Property Law Association's annual meeting that a legislative fix is needed immediately. "Not everyone is getting everything they want" in the bill, Kappos said, but it is a "major positive step" for the stakeholders involved.
But on the same day, 12 senators, including Sens. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and Senate Finance ranking member Charles Grassley, sent a letter to Reid and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell stating the bill needs more work before it is brought to the floor. Judiciary ranking member Jeff Sessions and Minority Whip Jon Kyl have questioned the bill's approach to challenging a patent after it is granted and want to modify the language.
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