Patent Law Weblog
recent posts
- Apple v. Squires: USPTO Director Has Unlimited Discretion on IPR Institution
- The Ghost in the Machine: Why GenAI Can Be Both a Brilliant Researcher and a Terrible Advocate
- Bayer Files Suit Against Trio of COVID-19 Vaccine Makers
- Allen v. Cooper (4th Cir. 2026)
- To Require an Inventor ID, or Not to Require an Inventor ID – That Is the Question
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Category: Patent Legislation
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By Donald Zuhn — Earlier this month, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a cost estimate for the Innovation Act (H.R. 9). The bill, which was introduced in February, was reported by the House Committee on the Judiciary in June. The CBO noted that implementing H.R. 9 would cost an estimated $3 million between 2016…
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By Grantland Drutchas — Yesterday, we reported on the inter partes review (IPR)-specific provisions of the Managers Amendment to the PATENT ACT bil, which was passed last week by the Senate Judiciary Committee (see also "Senate Judiciary Committee Passes PATENT Act"). On June 9th, in the House of Representatives, Rep. Bob Goodlatte submitted an "Amendment in…
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Late-Breaking Section 11 Regarding IPRs Part of the PATENT Act Approved by Senate Judiciary Committee By Grantland Drutchas — As reported here last week, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the PATENT Act bill, with a Managers Amendment that includes several IPR-specific provisions. With this Amendment, the PATENT Act now has two major components: changes to…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Protecting American Talent and Entrepreneurship Act (S. 1137, otherwise known as the PATENT Act) yesterday on a vote of 12-4, with Senators Grassley (R-IA), Hatch (R-UT), Sessions (R-AL), Graham (R-SC), Cornyn (R-TX), Lee (R-UT), Flake (R-AZ), Perdue (R-GA), Tillis (R-NC), Leahy (D-VT), Feinstein (D-CA),…
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By Donald Zuhn — Last month, more than 90 national and state advocacy organizations sent a letter to the leadership of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, urging Congress to enact legislative reforms that will maintain a strong and secure patent system that protects the rights of legitimate patent owners. In the letter, which was…
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By Donald Zuhn — Last week, legislation was introduced in the House of Representatives that would amend 35 U.S.C. § 102(b) "to correct the drafting problem in the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act relating to the grace period." The bill, entitled the "Grace Period Restoration Act of 2015" (H.R. 1791), was sponsored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner…
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By Andrew Williams — Yesterday, Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the "Support Technology and Research for Our Nation's Growth (STRONG) Patents Act of 2015." What is unique about this bill (as opposed to the flurry of patent reform bills we have been seeing) is that the…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — As discussed in a prior post, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R, VA-6th) and a bipartisan collection of sponsors* introduced a bill, once again entitled the "Innovation Act" (H.R. 3309 in the last Congress; H.R. 9 in this one) directed at "patent reform." The prior post discussed the litigation provisions; this one…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — As expected by almost everyone (and anticipated by several groups who urged him not to do so; see "Pro-Patent Coalition Writes Letter to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees" and "Big Ten Lobbies Congress to Tread Lightly on "Patent Reform""), Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R, VA-6th), joined by Rep. Peter DeFazio…
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By Kevin E. Noonan — Last week, what is described as "a broad coalition" representing patent holders and inventors sent a letter to Representatives Bob Goodlatte (VA, 6th) and John Conyers (MI, 13th), Chairman and Ranking Member, respectively, of the House Judiciary Committee; and Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman and Ranking…
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