United States patent law has seen significant change over the last several years. The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court have introduced major changes into several fundamental concepts of patent law, including obviousness and injunctive relief. All this while Congress continues to explore legislative patent reform and the Patent and Trademark Office explores its ability to effect change.
Last Friday I presented "Patent Reform Update" as a guest lecture at Stanford Law School. Jeff Schos, a San Francisco-based patent attorney and long time friend of mine, asked for some help with the 'patent reform' topic for his class. I was glad more than happy to help out. Read this post to download a .pdf of my presentation.
The Congressional Budget Office estimates that S.1145, the Patent Reform Act of 2007, would have a net $1.4 billion deficit increase between 2009 and 2018 if enacted as reported by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. The biggest hit might be a special interest provision that all but guarantees Fifth Amendment-based lawsuits against the federal government. For the private sector, mandatory search reports bring a well-defined new cost, but another special-interest provision might hide even more.
The current and immediate past Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee pitched their case for the Patent Reform Act of 2007 in today's Washington Times. They note the need for reform, call attention to a few specific reform measures, and let us know that progress is being made because "everyone is complaining that the entire bill is not going their way."