By Donald Zuhn —

In an editorial appearing in Sunday’s edition of the San Francisco Chronicle, the Bay area newspaper appears to have, perhaps not surprisingly, taken sides with tech companies on the issue of patent reform.  In an editorial entitled "The laptop vs. the pill bottle," the Chronicle acknowledges the ongoing battle between biotech/pharma companies and tech firms over an "obscure, but crucial" area of the law that the newspaper contends hasn’t undergone major revision since the 1950’s (dismissing or simply forgetting about significant revisions to U.S. patent law that took effect in 1995 and 2000).  However, despite labeling the battle between these two groups "a neighborhood quarrel," the Chronicle seems to find favor with the tech firms’ argument that current U.S. patent law has created "a legal battleground where scattershot court decisions and murky rules are hindering innovation and clogging courts," and therefore, ultimately calls for "badly needed" changes.  With respect to the Patent Office’s role in improving the system, the editorial concludes, without offering much support, that "[a]ll sides in the debate acknowledge that applications should be harder to win, thus cutting down on later conflicts."

For additional information on this topic, please see:

• "Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Patent Reform," June 10