The House Subcommittee on Intellectual Property [1] circulated a discussion draft a Patent Reform Bill [2]. Since it’s just a draft, it’s not worth over-analyzing at this point but it is interesting to get a glimpse at the topics that may be subject to amendment.
The proposed legislation includes changes to:
- Creating a post-grant opposition procedures
- Willfulness damages award not merely on the knowledge of a patent
- Remove right for an injunction for infringing activity
- First-to-file rights
- Expanded definitions of prior art (but see above)
- Assignee may file for the application
- Best mode requirement
- Duty of candor and unenforceability
- Limits on damages when invention is a portion of a larger product
- Publication of all patent applications after 18 months
- Prior user rights
I would like to see a first-to-file change to bring us into alignment with the rest of the world but I won’t hold my breath. There is certainly going to be some arguments over these types of changes. A Senate Committee on the Judiciary [3], Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, will hold a hearing on “The Patent System Today and Tomorrow [4],” Thursday, April 21, 2005 at 2:30 p.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. Senator Hatch will preside.
Dennis Crouch [5] has an excellent on-going discussion of the bill in a series of posts here [6], here [7]and here [8]. The Draft Patent Statute is posted here [2](182 KB).
The Baristas [9] will need to mull over the details over a grande and a scone. We’ll keep you posted on substantive changes.