Issa Lauds Passage of America Invents Act as Critical for USA Job Creation, Global Competitiveness

Press Release

Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) today praised the passage of the America Invents Act (H.R. 1249) that advanced from the House of Representatives by a vote of 304 to 117. The legislation, for which Issa is an original cosponsor, will substantively reform the United States patent system to better protect intellectual property rights and the ability to create profits and jobs from American innovation. It is the first comprehensive patent legislation to be approved by Congress in close to sixty years.

"Reforming the United States patent system for innovators and job creators has been one of my top priorities since becoming a member of Congress. With the passage of the America Invents Act today, the House of Representatives brought the country one critical step closer to a patent system that streamlines the approval of new discoveries and unleashes American creative entrepreneurialism in the global marketplace. It is about both innovation and jobs.

"As a patent holder myself, I can say that the America Invents Act will help tremendously to expedite the patent approval process so that new ideas can make their way into the marketplace much sooner. The tort reform language I worked to include in the bill will additionally disqualify hundreds of predatory lawsuits that bankrupt small businesses and cost patent-holding companies millions of dollars in legal fees each year.

"I'm proud of the bipartisan collaboration that went into the America Invents Act. For six years I have worked closely with other members of Congress to help craft this legislation that will take great strides toward helping small and large American innovators obtain patents for their quality work in a timely, cost-effective manner. With this modernization, American companies will have the license to grow and compete, and the United States will remain a magnet for the world's greatest minds and the source of its landmark discoveries."

Since 1992, nearly $1 billion has been diverted from the US Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) through Washington budget maneuvers. Currently the PTO has a backlog of over 700,000 patent applications which represent American inventions waiting to be introduced to the marketplace. The America Invents Act grants the PTO access to all of its own inventor user fees in order to expedite the patent approval process. It also moves the United States to a Constitutionally-sound and globally competitive "First-Inventor-to-File system."

Congressman Issa is one of a small number of patent-holding members of Congress, with thirty-seven registered to his name. He has worked for eleven years on patent reform legislation and for the past six on the America Invents Act. Similar legislation (S. 23) recently passed the Senate overwhelmingly with ninety-five voting in support. Industry leaders, academic institutions, and inventors additionally stand in support.

Source