By
Donald Zuhn —

On
Tuesday, the American Innovators for Patent Reform
(AIPR) announced
that it was joining with the Small Business Coalition on Patent Legislation in
opposing patent reform legislation currently before Congress.  The AIPR specifically opposes the
inclusion of apportionment of damages, post-grant opposition, and first-to-file
provisions in any patent reform bill that might make its way to the Senate or
House floor for a vote.  Last fall,
the AIPR had issued a statement
regarding its opposition to the post-grant review provision in particular.

In
December, the Small Business Coalition on Patent Legislation sent a letter to
the U.S. Small Business Administration stating its opposition to the
first-to-file, post-grant review, and USPTO rulemaking provisions in pending
patent reform legislation (see "Patent
Reform Efforts Opposed by Small Business Group").  Only a few weeks earlier, in a letter
to The New York Times, Senate
Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) asserted that "[w]e need to create
the legal landscape that allows our innovators to flourish in the new economy,
and we need to do it now" (see "Senator Leahy: 'Time Is Now' for
Patent Reform").  Senator Leahy added that "Congress should not let the controversial issue
of how damages are calculated bog down needed reforms," and noted that
with regard to patent reform, Congress "will make this happen, and America
will invent its way back to prosperity."

In
the AIPR release, the group's founder and President Alexander Poltorak
noted that while Congress had been consumed by the health care reform debate
for most of the past year, and both the Senate (S. 515)
and House (H.R. 1260)
patent reform bills had been put on hold, "there is no doubt that Congress
will again address the Patent Reform Act in 2010, and those who believe that
only strong U.S. patents will insure and protect American innovation must stand
united in opposition to this ill-conceived legislation!"  Referring to the letter sent by the the
Small Business Coalition last month, Dr. Poltorak
applauded the group for its efforts "in getting the voice of small business
— traditionally the largest source of new job creation and new technologies —
heard in the halls of Government."

According
to the AIPR website, the group represents a broad constituency of American
innovators and innovation stakeholders, including inventors, engineers,
researchers, entrepreneurs, patent owners, investors, small businesses, and
intellectual property professionals such as patent attorneys, patent agents,
tech transfer managers, and licensing executives.