Patent Reform Bill Enhanced By Key Issa Provision

Press Release

Patent Reform Bill Enhanced by Key Issa Provision

The House Judiciary Committee today approved H.R. 1908, the Patent Reform Act of 2007 - the most sweeping reform proposal to U.S. patent laws in half a century.

"This reform legislation will retune America's patent laws to maximize innovation in our economy of ideas," said Rep. Issa (R-CA) who cosponsored the proposal. "After extensive consultations throughout the patent community, this reform proposal has found a balance for protecting the rights of the inventor, increasing the efficiency of resolving disputes, and creating new protections against frivolous patent claims. I do, however, believe that this legislation can be further improved, particularly in the areas of apportionment of damages and preventing forum shopping."

H.R. 1908 was amended at the Committee mark-up by lead sponsor Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) to, among other provisions, include a proposal from Congressman Issa to improve upon the current reexamination process instead of creating a second window in the post grant procedure that provides an alternative to litigation. The issue of the proposed "second window" has been one of the most contentious in the patent reform debate.

"Darrell Issa is truly the patent expert of this Congress, and he made many constructive suggestions - and an emphasis on many - to improve the bill and those suggestions have been incorporated into this amendment," said Congressman Berman during today's mark-up.

"The Patent Reform Act has made incredible progress. I applaud Congressman Howard Berman and Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-TX) for their hard work over the years that made today's committee passage possible," said Issa.

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