As the Patent Reform Bill of 2007 (S. 1145) makes it’s way through Congress, Senators Coburn, Grassley, Kyl, Sessions and Brownback letter to Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman of the Committee on the Judiciary. Note that a majority of the a majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans co-signed the letter.
Basically, the group beleives that believe that recent testimony at the hearing reflected the need for further discussion among members, staff, the Patent and Trademark Office, the Department of Justice, and stakeholders. Therefore, they are asking that the Committee not move the patent reform bill until they have had time to work through certain issues.
The letter states:
We believe that more hearings are necessary to adequately address a number of important issues with broad implications for our economy. Specifically, we believe that the issue of mandatory apportionment of damages, post-grant opposition, and broad rulemaking authority for USPTO need to be more carefully examined to ensure that they do not undermine innovation, increase frivolous litigation, or undermine property rights. Many prominent American businesses on the cutting edge of innovation are expressing concerns about the impact of sweeping patent reform. These concerns merit thoughtful deliberation, and we believe that more hearings will help to inform the committee before we proceed to markup.
See the entire letter here: Patent Reform Letter to Leahy
