Category: Patent Legislation

By Donald Zuhn — Reports Suggest Senate Action on Patent Reform Bill Could Be Weeks Away In Monday's IPO Daily News, the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) suggested that H.R. 1249, which the House passed on June 23 (see "House Passes H.R. 1249"), might not be brought up by the Senate until after Congress' August…

By Donald Zuhn — The House of Representatives earlier today passed H.R. 1249, the America Invents Act, by a 304-117 vote.  All told, 168 Republicans and 136 Democrats voted in favor of the bill and 67 Republicans and 50 Democrats voted against the legislation (ten members did not vote; the final vote results can be…

By Donald Zuhn — BIO Reaffirms Support for H.R. 1249 In a statement released earlier today, the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) reaffirmed its support for H.R. 1249 and urged the House to pass the bill this week.  BIO President and CEO Jim Greenwood noted that the organization was "pleased that Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith…

By Donald Zuhn — H.R. 1249 Floor Debate to Take Place Later This Week? In today's IPO Daily News, the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) reported that floor debate of the House version of the "America Invents Act" (H.R. 1249) is now scheduled to take place "on Wednesday or later in the week."  The House…

David Boundy Thinks So David Boundy (below) of Cantor Fitzgerald and co-author (with Phillip Furlang) of the forthcoming Patent Prosection (Oxford University Press) has been at the forefront of several important patent issues in the past decade, including notably the USPTO's ill-advised "claims and continuation" rules instituted by the Dudas Administration and blocked by Judge…

By Kevin E. Noonan — The AMA, ACLU, and some of their friends oppose the (Leahy-Smith) America Invents Act, and their reasons may not surprise you. In separate letters Wednesday to Rep. Lamar Smith, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and Rep. John Conyers, the Ranking Member, both the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and…

By Kevin E. Noonan — The patent community continues to wait for Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) to convince his brethren on the Appropriations Committee that the provisions of H.R. 1249 (formerly the "America Invents Act," now the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act") that would put an end to patent fee diversion do not offend the Separation…

    By Donald Zuhn — H.R. 1249 Vote Delayed by Fee Diversion Debate On Tuesday, the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) reported that the House Rules Committee meeting to determine how the floor debate on H.R. 1249 would be conducted, originally scheduled for that day, had been postponed.  Today, the IPO reported that the Rules Committee…

By Kevin E. Noonan — The question of when H.R. 1249 (formerly the "America Invents Act," now the "Leahy-Smith America Invents Act") will get to a floor vote in the House apparently depends on whether Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) can convince his brethren on the Appropriations Committee that the provisions that would put an end…

By Donald Zuhn — H.R. 1249 Could Reach House Floor This Week In today's IPO Daily News, the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) reported that House members are preparing for possible debate and a vote on H.R. 1249 "as early as this week."  According to the IPO report, the House has scheduled H.R. 1249 for…