Conyers: Patent Talks Appear 'Stalled'
House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, D-Mich., said Wednesday that talks on addressing concerns he and other House Judiciary members have raised about a Senate compromise patent overhaul bill appear to be "stalled."
The patent bill "seems to be stalled somewhere between the House and Senate," Conyers said during a hearing on the Patent and Trademark Office. He said after the hearing that he and ranking member Lamar Smith, R-Texas, and Judiciary members are considering offering a standalone bill on one of the less controversial provisions in the Senate compromise to allow the PTO to set its own fees and to bar Congress from diverting fee revenues to other government programs.
Conyers added that House Judiciary members "normally" can resolve their differences with their Senate counterparts but on the patent overhaul issues that "seems not to be happening."
Smith was more optimistic about the talks with the Senate on the compromise patent bill unveiled last month by Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy and ranking member Jeff Sessions, R-Ala. He said House and Senate staffers have been meeting to narrow differences over such issues as the post-grant review process and willfulness language. The Leahy-Sessions compromise is expected to be offered as a manager's amendment when the bill hits the floor.
"I'm still hopeful," Smith said. "But changes are needed on the Senate bill before we'll sign off." Smith has said previously that if they reach a deal, the House would likely take up the Senate-passed patent measure.
Regardless of how the talks turn out, Smith said Congress needs to help the PTO address the backlog of patent applications and efforts to improve patent quality, which is why he and Conyers are considering the standalone fee-setting bill.
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