Sweeping Patent Reform Bill Introduced in US Senate

[mandy]

The U.S. patent system could be inching closer to an overhaul long desired by the technology industry.

Just before departing for their summer recess on Thursday, Utah Republican Orrin Hatch and Vermont Democrat Patrick Leahy, who serve as chairmen of the U.S. Senate's intellectual-property panel, introduced a 45-page bill that proposes a number of changes to the way American patents are awarded and challenged...

Specifically, it would shift to a "first to file" method of awarding patents, which is already used in most foreign countries, instead of the existing "first to invent" standard, which has been criticized as complicated to prove. Such a change has already earned backing from Jon Dudas, chief of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office...

full article: http://news.com.com/2100-1028_3-6102493.html?part=rss&tag=6102493&subj=news

[mandy]

Update:  the US Congress is once again looking at patent reform.

The U.S. patent system is in bad shape and needs reform, said Rep. Howard Berman (D-California) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers in a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Thursday.

Although Congress has long considered the patent system a shambles and has attempted to pass corrective legislation several times in the past, the issue is so sprawling and integral to the U.S. economy that progress has come slowly and in grudging increments. But lawmakers in the current Congress have vowed anew to clean up a system overwhelmed by frivolous patent applications and expensive lawsuits...

full article: http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,72743-0.html

[mandy]

the latest update:

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed a bill to overhaul the nation's patent system, overcoming objections by many Republicans, small inventors and some labor unions.

The Patent Reform Act, supported by several large tech vendors including Microsoft Corp. and IBM Corp., would allow courts to change they way they assess damages in patent infringement cases. Currently, courts generally consider the value of the entire product when a small piece of the product infringes a patent; the bill would allow, but not require, courts to base damages only on the value of the infringing piece.

The bill would also allow a new way to challenge patents within one year after they've been granted...

full article: http://www.itworld.com/Man/2687/070907patent/index.html