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Kyl patent reform bill: only for show

By Lawrence B. Ebert, Esq.

Perhaps only to illustrate that there are alternatives in patent reform, we now have Senator Kyl's "Patent Reform Act of 2008."

Section 5 concerns POST-GRANT REVIEW PROCEEDINGS, and basically substitutes "oppositions" (with two windows) for inter partes re-examinations.

Note-->

??(a) IN GENERAL.?The presumption of validity set
forth in section 282 of this title shall apply in post-grant
review proceedings instituted under this chapter.
??(b) BURDEN OF PROOF.?The petitioner shall have
the burden of proving a proposition of invalidity by a pre-
ponderance of the evidence in a first-period proceeding
and by clear and convincing evidence in a second-period
proceeding.

Section 7 is titled SUBMISSIONS BY THIRD PARTIES AND OTHER QUALITY ENHANCEMENTS. It notes: Any person may submit for
consideration and inclusion in the record of a patent application, any patent, published patent application,
or other publication of potential relevance to the examination of the application, if such submission is
made in writing before the earlier of (...)
One notes that Rule 99 already allows third parties to submit prior art to the USPTO.

Section 8 pertains to venue, and limits venue to places meeting one of six conditions. Condition 4 is where the invention claimed in a patent in suit was conceived or actually reduced to practice.

Section 13 concerns patents on check imaging methods.

Section 14 deals with USPTO funding, and would create a USPTO Public Enterprise Fund, the funds of which are available to the Director without fiscal year limitation.

Full post as published by IPBiz on September 26, 2008 (boomark / email).