DOW JONES NEWSWIRES WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said Tuesday that a wide-ranging attempt to overhaul the country's patent reform laws, which he has championed, appeared to be dead. He said that the Republicans seemed to be willing to let the legislation fail rather than strike a deal. "The Republicans really wanted to kill it, and I think they may have," said Leahy. "I think it's a shame after all the work that we've put into it." Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, acknowledged that the stumbling block involved key damages provision of any legislation, but that he hoped an agreement could still be reached on how to proceed. "There's one issue that's involving everybody, and that's damages," said Hatch. The dispute over damages goes to the very heart of patent law, determining the level of compensation companies or individuals should have to pay if a court determines they have violated a patent. The two lawmakers were speaking after the regular Tuesday policy luncheons at which the senators of each party gather to discuss strategy. The bill would be the most significant reform of U.S. patent laws in a generation. The House passed a version of the legislation last year. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had set aside floor time in the Senate for consideration of the legislation last week, dependent on a deal being reached between lawmakers by that time. Two weeks ago, there were a series of talks among Leahy, Hatch and Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., but the impasse over the damages provision couldn't be resolved. Specter is the ranking Republican member on the Judiciary Committee, and Hatch is a former chairman of the committee. The three have been the senators most closely associated with the attempt at reform.

Article by: By Corey Boles, Dow Jones Newswires

        

POPA and 13 unions sent a unified letter to legislators asking the Senate to block Patent Reform. You can access the letter by clicking on the folowing link:

http://www.popa.org/pdf/misc/reform1-06feb2008.pdf ...<< MORE >>

"The American system is regarded as the strongest protector of patent rights in the world. Unfortunately, the U.S. Congress is considering "reforming" the system. A bill has already been passed by the House and is under consideration in the Senate. Proposed changes could have potentially devastating consequences to research-based industries, especially the pharmaceutical industry.

Europe's inventors have flocked to the U.S. Patent Office because the European patent system is far inferior to America's. Europe's extended post-grant review procedures and artificially low caps on damages for stolen patents undermine the value of European intellectual property. Other flaws include ineffective and slow ...

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For a list of companies that do not support Patent Reform, click on the following link: 

http://innovationalliance.net/files/08-047.FG-FirstDoNoHarm_r1[1].pdf ...<< MORE >>

To read the Administration's views on S.1145, click on the following link:


http://www.ogc.doc.gov/ogc/legreg/letters/110/S1145020408.pdf

        

        

A draft of the Senate Judiciary Committee's Report on S.1145 can be found here. ...<< MORE >>

As reported on Fish & Richardson P.C.'s website:

2008 Patent Reform Update

Senate Leadership Reaffirms Commitment to Passing Patent Reform Legislation. Amid media commentary that patent reform legislation is dead, Senate leadership on December 18, 2007 reaffirmed their commitment to passing patent reform legislation in 2008. See the statements entered into the Congressional Record (Cong. Rec. 12/18/07, p. S15898) by Senators Leahy and Hatch here. "Our leadership has committed to taking up S.1145 as early in the new year as possible, and we commend that commitment. I fully recognize that when the bill was reported by the Judiciary Committee, ...<< MORE >>

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