Patent Reform Act of 2011

Floor Speech

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Mr. RISCH. Madam President, I am proud to come to the floor today to speak on the amendment to which I am a cosponsor.

This is simply a matter of fairness. With all due respect to my colleague from Washington, referencing her comments about the big boys versus the small inventors and what have you, I don't view it as that at all. I view it as a fairness issue: The person who created the invention gets the benefits of that creation, not the person with the fastest tennis shoes. That is what we are doing.

We are creating what is called a race notice statute, which is similar to what is in place in many States on real estate filings. It has a legitimate place in the real estate market but not here. With so much on the line, with creativity on the line, it should be the person who actually does the invention who reaps the benefits of that invention, and that is all this does.

The other thing I think is so important is it preserves the situation we have had for many years in place. I have heard people say: Oh, well, this is a poison pill. If you take this out, it kills the bill. That isn't the case at all. It simply preserves the situation we have in place today. It is the right thing to do. It is the fair thing to do.

I urge an affirmative vote for this amendment.

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