2011 Patent Law Reform Updates
September 17, 2011: Patent Reform Act Commentary
September 16, 2011
President Obama Signs the Patent Reform Bill into Law
September 9, 2011
U.S. Senate Passes Patent Reform Bill 89-9, without amendments. Bill Expected to be Signed by the President (
Senate passed overhaul) (
H.R. 1249)
September 8, 2011
U.S. Senate to Finish Debate and Vote on Three Amendments to Patent Reform Bill (
Senate to Finish Debate)
September 6, 2011
U.S. Senate to Vote Today on Whether to Proceed to Patent Reform Bill (
Senate to Vote)
August 3, 2011
Senate Majority Leader Reid Announces Senate Will Vote on Motion on September 6 to Take Up H.R. 1249 (
Reid announcement)
August 1, 2011
Presidential Advisor Mr. Plouffe Says that Passing Patent Reform is Important to Economic Growth (
Plouffe statement)
July 28, 2011
U.S. Senate Likely to Take Up Patent Reform in September 2011
July 19, 2011
Patent Reform Being Held Up by Debt Ceiling Negotiations in Congress (
Patent Reform hold)
July 14, 2011
USPTO Governmental Affairs Director Gives Presentation on Patent Reform at the July 14, 2011 Quarterly Patent Public Advisory Committee Meeting. (
Legislative update)
July 12, 2011
President Recommends Passage of Patent Reform Bill in His Remarks on the Monthly Jobs Report:
"Right now, we can give our entrepreneurs the chance to let their job-creating ideas move to market faster by streamlining our patent process. That’s pending before Congress right now. That should pass."
July 11, 2011
U.S. Patent Reform Bill Delayed by Debt Ceiling Negotiations (
Bill Delayed)
July 7,2011
U.S. Patent Reform Bill IPO Presentation: Close to Enactment (
Bill IPO)
July 5, 2011Section 156 Patent Term Extension Amendment included in H.R. 1249 (
Section 156)
July 1, 2011
Up-to-date version of H.R.1249 including Amendments approved by the House (
H.R. 1249 today)
June 30, 2011
Senate vote on patent reform bill likely in July (
Senate voting-July)
June 29, 2011
Leahy looking to move House-passed bill in the Senate (
Leahy/patent bill)
H.R. 1249 has support in the Senate; fee diversion still a concern
(
H.R. 1249 Senate support)
June 27, 2011
Patent reform bill sponsors hope to avoid House-Senate conference, thereby allowing H.R. 1249 to become law within a matter of days
(
House-Senate)
June 24, 2011
House passes landmark patent reform bill, 304-117 (
Final Vote Results;
Landmark Bill Passed by House)
June 23, 2011
House Appropriations Committee Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Kentucky) releases letter purporting to give assurances that USPTO fees will not be diverted
(
Rogers letter)
June 21, 2011
ABA sends letter to Chairman Smith urging the House not to amend section 22 of H.R. 1249, which establishes a revolving fund to stop diversion of fees away from the USPTO
(
H.R. 1249, section 22)
June 20, 2011
Representative Fattah (D-Pa.), the ranking member of the House Appropriations subcommittee that handles USPTO funding, says that House negotiators are close to an agreement on the provision in patent reform bill H.R. 1249 designed to stop diversion of fees away from the USPTO
(
Fattah Hints Compromise Near on Patent Bill)
June 20, 2011
Target Date for Bringing Up Patent Reform Bill in House is Wednesday, June 22, 2011
(
H.R. 1249)
June 15, 2011
Talks Continue on America Invents Act Reaching the House Floor
A June 14 meeting of the Rules Committee to decide the rule governing floor consideration of H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act, was postponed subject to the call of the chair. The rule governing debate of the bill will affect the disposition of 37 proposed amendments to the bill, including a Manager's Amendment by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX)
June 2, 2011
House of Representatives Publishes H.R. 1249, As Amended, Along With Judiciary Commitee's Report
June 1, 2011
Former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey Expresses Support for H.R. 1249, the "America Invents Act"
- Former Attorney General Mukasey: H.R. 1249 is "both constitutional and wise." (Letter)
- Judiciary Committee: Support for House Patent Reform Proposal Grows. (Press Release)
April 14, 2011
House Judiciary Committee Approves America Invents Act
By a vote of 32-3, the House Judiciary Committee approved an amended version of H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act.
March 30, 2011
Chairman Smith introduces America Invents Act in House
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced H.R. 1249, the House version of the America Invents Act, which was passed by the Senate on March 8.
The Judiciary Committee held its first hearing on the bill on March 30 at 1:30 pm. Testimony was provided by:
-
The Honorable David Kappos, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (
Kappos Testimony)
-
The Honorable Steve Bartlett, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Financial Services Roundtable (
Bartlett Testimony)
-
Steven W. Miller, Vice President and General Counsel for Intellectual Property, Procter & Gamble Company (
Miller Testimony)
-
Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Cisco Systems, Inc. (
Chandler Testimony)
-
John Vaughn, Executive Vice President, Association of American Universities (
Vaughn Testimony)
March 14, 2011
Congressman Issa Introduces Patent Continuing Disclosure Act
-
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) introduces H.R. 1056, the Patent Continuing Disclosure Act, which aims to reduce false marking litigation involving expired patents. Rep. Issa's bill is a stand-alone bill. False marking lawsuits are also addressed in Section 2(k) of the Senate bill. Markup by the full House Judiciary Committee is scheduled for March 17. (
H.R. 1056)
Note: The scheduled full committee markup was cancelled. No rescheduling information is yet available.
March 10, 2011
House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet holds hearing on: "Recent Judicial Decisions on Patent Law."
Full Details and Webcast are available from the Committee's Website (
Hearing Information).
Testimony provided by:
- Dan L. Burk, Chancellor's Professor of Law at UC-Irvine
-
-
Dennis D. Crouch, Associate Professor of Law at the University of Missouri School of Law
March 8, 2011
Senate Passes America Invents Act; Bill Sent to House for Consideration
March 7, 2011
Senate Invokes Cloture on S. 23
By a vote of 87-3, the Senate invokes cloture on S. 23. Passage of the cloture motion means that further debate in the Senate is limited to 30 hours, after which the Senate must vote on the bill.
March 3, 2011
Debate Continues in Senate; Proposed Amendment to Strike First-To-File Requirement Defeated
- Leahy: First-Inventor-To-File Transition Support In Every Corner Of Patent Community (Leahy Press Release)
- Senate Amendment 133, an amendment introduced by Senator Feinstein to strike the first-to-file requirement in the bill, is tabled on a vote of 87-13 (see transcript of the debate from the Congressional Record) (Congressional Record SA133 - Tabled)
- Summary of Senate Debate and Amendments, from the Congressional Record (Daily Digest)
- Transcript of Senate Debate, from the Congressional Record (Congressional Record)
March 2, 2011
Debate Continues in Senate; Senators Adopt Amendments from Senator Bennet and Senator Kirk
- Leahy: First-To-File System Will Add Simplicity And Objectivity To U.S. Patent System (Leahy Press Release)
- Senators Bennet and Udall: Amendment to Create New Regional Patent Offices Approved by Senate (Bennet-Udall Press Release)
- Senator Kirk: Senate Approves Amendment to Create “Fast Lane” in Patent and Trademark Office for Small Businesses (Kirk Press Release)
- Summary of Senate Debate and Amendments, from the Congressional Record (Daily Digest)
- Transcript of Senate Debate, from the Congressional Record (Congressional Record)
March 1, 2011
Debate Continues in Senate; Adoption of Senate Amendment 121 Renaming S. 23 the "America Invents Act"
- Summary of Senate Debate and Amendments, from the Congressional Record (Daily Digest)
- Transcript of Senate Debate, from the Congressional Record (Congressional Record)
Feb. 28, 2011
Full Senate Begins Debate on Patent Reform Act
- Leahy Opens U.S. Senate Debate On Patent Reform Legislation (Leahy Press Release)
- Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On Senate Debate Of The Patent Reform Act, S.23 (Leahy Statement)
- Summary of Senate Debate and Amendments, from the Congressional Record (Daily Digest)
- Transcript of Senate Debate, from the Congressional Record (Congressional Record)
Feb. 18, 2011
Sen. Leahy Comments On Floor Schedule For Patent Reform Act, Post–State of the Union Address
Senator Leahy’s Press Release (
Leahy Press Release)
Feb. 11, 2011
House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition and the Internet holds hearing on: "Crossing the Finish Line on Patent Reform – What Can and Should be Done."
Testimony provided by:
- David Simon, Associate General Counsel, Intellectual Property Policy, Intel Corp.
- Carl Horton, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, General Electric, On Behalf of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform
- The Honorable Paul Michel, Former Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
Feb. 3, 2011
Senate Judiciary Committee Unanimously Votes To Send Bipartisan Patent Reform Legislation To Full Senate
As a result of hearings held by the Senate Judiciary Committee, an amended version of S. 23 was reported out of Committee to the full Senate.
Jan. 27, 2011
Senate Judiciary Committee to Consider S. 23 on February 3, 2011
Press Release from Senator Leahy (
Leahy Press Release)
Jan. 25, 2011
Senate Introduces the Patent Reform Act of 2011 (S. 23)
Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) introduced the Patent Reform Act of 2011 (S. 23) on January 25, 2011. He was joined by eight co-sponsors from the 112th United State Congress: Senators Coons (D-DE), Franken (D-MN), Grassley (R-IA), Hatch (R-UT), Klobuchar (D-MN), Kyl (R-AZ), Lieberman (I-CT), and Sessions (R-AL). The bill was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which unanimously approved the bill. The bill proposes changes in United States patent law and closely resembles previously proposed legislation in the Senate in its previous session (
see S. 515, the Patent Reform Act of 2009 PRA_2009.pdf). The Patent Reform Act of 2011 represents the fourth consecutive congressional session attempt to enact major revisions to the U.S. patent system.