Patent Law

Becalmed

By Gary Odom and Jordan Kuhn

Keith Perine in the Congressional Quarterly spied the stall in the Senate version of the Patent Reform Act.

The Senate is not expected to take up a measure to overhaul patent laws until April at the earliest, as agreement on the complex legislation remains elusive. Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick J. Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who sponsored the legislation (S 1145), acknowledged Wednesday that it likely won't be on the floor until after a two-week March recess. So far .... there have not been substantive negotiations over complex provisions - particularly a section dealing with damages awards in patent infringement lawsuits - since the Judiciary panel approved the bill last July... Lobbyists have predicted that the committee-approved bill does not have a filibuster-proof majority of 60 votes.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, noting insufficient lucre lubrication: "I think the people who want this bill have to weigh in very heavily."

Hat tip of thanks to Hal Wegner, who speculated that "bits and pieces of S. 1145 could be cleaved off with attempts to piece together legislation at some point this year as an amendment to other, non-germane legislation."

Full post as published by The Patent Prospector on February 15, 2008 (boomark / email).