Cornyn Co-sponsors Bill To Protect American Innovation

Press Release

Cornyn Co-sponsors Bill To Protect American Innovation

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined a bipartisan group of Senators on Wednesday to introduce the Patent Reform Act of 2007, which protects American innovation and competitiveness by making key reforms to the patent system. The bill's main sponsors are Judiciary Committee Chairman U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and U.S. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.

"This bill will help ensure Texas remains a leader in high-tech innovation. It is also important to the businesses that employ thousands of Texans." Sen. Cornyn said. "The federal government has traditionally provided strong protection of inventors and their intellectual property. America's patent system has been one of the pillars of our economic success. But our nation's future prosperity is threatened by an increasingly outdated patent system that is spawning frivolous litigation and not keeping up with the pace of 21st century innovation."

Sen. Cornyn added: "This legislation is the result of a long-term, bipartisan effort to address the concerns of those who continually work to promote American innovation. I'll work with Chairman Leahy and members on both sides of the aisle to reach a consensus on remaining issues and concerns so that we might enact this legislation promptly."

The Patent Reform Act of 2007 includes provisions to:

* Improve the quality of patent applications;
* Provide adequate resources to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to process the rising Number of patent applications;
* Ensure a fair set of remedies and procedures for patent infringement; and
* Make the U.S. Intellectual Property system more compatible with other nations.

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