Patent Reform Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. BENNET. Mr. President, I would like to speak briefly on the importance of passing the America Invents Act.

Chairman LEAHY and the Judiciary Committee have worked hard to put this product on the floor that will mark the biggest reforms to our patent system in 60 years. This bill will create jobs in Colorado and across the country by promoting innovation. By making our patent system more efficient, we are building the foundation for future economic growth.

In my State alone, nearly 20,000 patent applications have been granted between the years 2000 and 2009. These applications have created the foundation for our clean energy economy and emerging tech and bio industries.

Having a high quality U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is essential to maintaining American leadership in innovation. The America Invents Act will help us grow new industries and will help cure the backlog and delay that have stunted the ability of inventors to patent their ideas.

Right now, the average pendency period for a patent application is 36 months. That is unacceptable if we are to compete with the rest of the world. This does not even account for those patents that have been tied up in years of litigation after they are granted.

And we have improved the bill on the floor by helping solidify alternatives to litigation, provide for more efficient resolution of disputes and help create more certainty, which is essential to inventors.

It is hard to pass a jobs bill without spending money, but that is absolutely what we have done here. The bill does a good job of balancing the interests of innovators across the many sectors of our economy.

We have passed a number of bipartisan amendments that have improved this bill. We added amendments promoting the establishment of satellite USPTO offices in regions across the country; creating a discount for small entities to participate in the accelerated patent examination program of the USPTO; and addressing concerns with damages and venue provisions. I am proud to have worked with the chairman and the ranking member to get these issues resolved.

I also commend Senator MENENDEZ on his amendment to provide a fast track for patents that are critical for our national competitiveness, which I cosponsored.

The Senate has come a long way toward improving our patent system with this legislation and harmonizing our system with the rest of the world. There are a lot of people in my State who are interested in further improvements. I pledge to continue to work with them to help make sure we continue to fine tune this legislation where we can.

The America Invents Act represents significant progress for our patent system. We are moving our patent system into the new century, which is already being defined by the next wave of American innovation. The breadth of support for this legislation across industries and from large and small businesses, as well as our universities, has provided the momentum to complete this legislation.

I would like to close by again thanking the chairman and Judiciary Committee. I urge my colleagues to vote for patent reform.

I thank the Chair. I yield the floor.

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