The PTP Patent Reform Library

This post contains the PTP Patent Reform Library.

A .pdf of The Patent Act of 2005 is available for viewing and downloading in the Legislative Materials section

Background Information

The following resources are considered by many to be the primary catalysts behind the current patent reform movement:

• The NAS Report
• A Patent System for the 21st Century by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences (290 pp.)
• Summary of the NAS report (4 pp.)
• AIPLA response to the NAS Report
• The FTC Report
• To Promote Innovation: The Proper Balance of Competition and Patent Law and Policy by the Federal Trade Commission [.pdf](315 pp.)
• AIPLA response to the FTC report
• The USPTO’s 21st Century Strategic Plan
• The book Innovation and Its Discontents: How our broken patent system is endangering innovation and progress, and what to do about it; by Adam B. Jaffe and Josh Lerner

Legislative Materials

• Bills
• 109th Congress
• The Patent Act of 2005
• DRAFT amendment in the nature of a substitute (NOT INTRODUCED as of August 23, 2005
• As introduced in the House (H.R. 2795)
• Comments on introduction in the House
• Red-lined version of affected sections (.doc) (via the Patently-O Blog of Dennis Crouch)
• The “Coalition Print” (a red-lined version of the draft amendment in the nature of a substitute; Also referred to as the “September redline”)
• The Committee Print (pre-introduction working draft of The Patent Act of 2005)
• The Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2005
• As introduced in the House (HR 2791)
• The COMPETE Act
• As introduced in the Senate (S. 1020)
• Comments on introduction in the Senate
• The National Innovation Act of 2005
• As introduced in the Senate (S. 2109)
• Comments on introduction in the Senate
• 108th Congress
• The Patent Quality Assistance Act of 2004
• As introduced in the House (HR 5299)
• Comments on introduction in the House (extended)
• The Patent and Trademark Fee Modernization Act of 2004
• In last minute politicking, the Act, in large part, was dumped into an omnibus appropriations bill
• I presented a summary of key provisions in this post on Promote the Progress
• Oversight Hearings
• House (Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property)
• April 20, 2005
• Opening remarks of Chairman Lamar Smith
• Prepared statements of witnesses
• Lutton (Business Software Alliance)
• Lafuze (American Bar Association)
• Kushan (Genentech)
• Hawley (Intellectual Property Owner’s (IPO) Association)
• April 28, 2005
• Prepared statements of witnesses
• Myhrvold
• Levin
• Dudas (USPTO)
• Bartholomew
• June 9, 2005
• Opening remarks of Chairman Lamar Smith
• Prepared statements of witnesses
• Griswold (AIPLA)
• Gulbrandsen (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation)
• Lerner (Harvard Business School)
• Ravicher (Public Patent Foundation)
• September 15, 2005 (Discussion of the draft amendment in the nature of a substitute and the Coalition Print; Not a markup of H.R. 2795)
• Opening remarks of Chairman Lamar Smith
• Prepared statements of witnesses
• Chess (Biotechnology Industry Organization)
• Johnson (Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA))
• Simon (Small Business Software Alliance)
• Thomas (Geourgetown Law School)
• Senate (Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property)
• April 25, 2005
• Prepared statements of witnesses
• Simon
• Poppen
• Parker
• Myers
• Levin
• Kirk
• Kamen
• Dudas (USPTO)
• Armitage (Eli Lilly)
• June 14, 2005 (specifically directed to injunctions and damages aspects of reform)
• Opening remarks of Ranking Member Patrick Leahy
• Prepared statements of witnesses
• Band (Visa and the Financial Services Roundtable)
• Fish (Time Warner)
• Kushan (Sidley Austin Brown & Wood)
• Lemley (Stanford Law School)
• Miscellaneous Legislative Items
• New Democrat Coalition letter of support of Smith and Berman efforts to draft legislation (May 19, 2005)

USPTO Materials

• The 21st Century Strategic Plan
• The plan
• Supporting materials
• Statement of James E. Rogan (then Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office) before the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property (April 3, 2003) (introducing the strategic plan)
• USPTO Listing of Action Papers
• USPTO Changes to administrative rules to support implementation of the plan
• The Office’s Report to Congress on Inter Partes Reexamination
• The report, required by the American Inventor’s Protection Act, is quite telling. It reveals a real need and indeed a desire on the part of the Patent Office for a new post-grant review procedure.

Law Review Articles

• Donald S. Chisum, Reforming Patent Law Reform, 4 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 336 (2005)
• James G. McEwen, Is the Cure Worse than the Disease? An Overview of the Patent Reform Act of 2005, 5 J. Marshall Rev. Intell. Prop. L. 55 (2005)

Media Coverage

• Press release of Representative Lamar Smith on introduction of the Patent Act of 2005 (June 8, 2005)
• Cnet:  Patent reform — or else (May 24, 2005)
• Inc. Magazine:  Patent law reform proposed (May 10, 2005)
• USA Today:  Pressure mounts for reform of patent system (May 2, 2005)
• ZD Net:  IBM Calls for patent reform (April 11, 2005)
• internetnews.com:  Mr. Smith went to Washington for patent reform (March 10, 2005) (on Microsoft proposals for patent reform)

Key Posts on Promote the Progress

• Comments of Representative Berman on introduction of the Patent Act of 2005 (HR 2795) (June 13, 2005)
• Conference on patent reform - a quick summary of five major themes (June 10, 2005)
• Details of the New Democrat letter of support for patent reform: Focus is on litigation reforms, including changing the injunctive relief calculus (May 25, 2005)
• COMPETE Act introduced in Senate: The return of anti-fee diversion and a possible funding mate for patent reform legislation (May 16, 2005)
• An early action problem under first to file (or Second Action Surprise — you lost the race!) (May 12, 2005)
• Predictions on content and time frame of coming reform bill (May 11, 2005)
• Dear Congressman: Please use the Promote the Progress blog as a resource and a communications tool during the legislative process on patent reform (May 9, 2005)
• Reforms to include longer patent terms? More on Cnet, Feinstein and Levi Strauss (May 2, 2005)
• Second House oversight hearing on patent reform – two quick takes (April 28, 2005)
• On the Senate side: Summary of patent reform hearing of the Subcommittee on Intellectual Property (April 26, 2005)
• Dudas opens Senate reform hearing: Our responsibility is to perfect and educate (April 25, 2005)
• House oversight hearing on draft patent reform bill: What did we learn? (April 21, 2005)
• Draft patent reform bill circulated in support-shopping — don’t sweat the details just yet (April 18, 2005)
• Microsoft patent reform ideas – largely in-line with AIPLA proposals (March 11, 2005)
• Two take home lessons from Town Hall meeting on patent reform (March 7, 2005)
• A patent reform primer (February 3, 2005)
• Senator Norm Coleman to introduce COMPETE Act: The return of anti-fee diversion (January 25, 2005)
• Late term bill proposes several patent law reforms, including post-grant opposition of patent claims (December 20, 2004)
• Patent Office report to Congress on inter partes reexamination suggests changes and highlights need for expanded post grant review system (December 17, 2004)

Recommended readings from other blogs

• Patently-O (Dennis Crouch)
• Patent reform: Congress choosing sides (May 25, 2005)
• Does the Constitution provide for a right to an injunction in patent cases? (May 18, 2005)
• Patent Reform: Injunctions only when money is not enough (April 18, 2005)
• Patent reform: Overturn Eolas v. Microsoft (April 18, 2005)
• Patent reform: Proposed changes allow assignee to file patent application (April 18, 2005)
• Patent reform: House IP Subcommittee prepares sweeping patent law changes (April 17, 2005)
• The Invent Blog (Steve Nipper)
• Patent reform: Do small entities support the status quo? (May 26, 2005)
• Constitutional argument against changing injunctive relief (May 18, 2005)
• Patent reform guide for small entities (May 26, 2005)

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