Democrats’ Gains Galvanize Leahy’s Push For Patent Reform
This article was originally published in The Tan Sheet
Executive Summary
Encouraged by election results that increased Democrats' majority in the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will reintroduce his controversial patent reform bill
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Encouraged by election results that increased Democrats' majority in the Senate, Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., will reintroduce his controversial patent reform bill. Although Leahy's bill languished after being reported out of committee this year, a companion measure passed comfortably in the House (1 (Also see "Kyl’s Patent Reform Bill Gains Acceptance From Drug And Biotech Industries" - Pink Sheet, 27 Oct, 2008.), p. 10). "Chairman Leahy, we think, believes that with stronger majorities, he will be able to move the bill that stalled this past year," said Brett Loper, AdvaMed director of government affairs. Drug and medical device industries strongly oppose Leahy's bill, particularly the apportionment provision to allow courts to calculate royalties for an infringed patent according to the economic value of the patent's "specific contribution over the prior art." Industry stakeholders worry that the provision would limit damage awards and undermine the value of patent protection. The industries also oppose a "second-window" post-grant review provision in the Leahy bill that would let petitioners, under certain circumstances, challenge patents through the Patent and Trademark Office, rather than in court, for an indefinite period. Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., also is expected to reintroduce a rival bill favored by the drug and device industries because it would not significantly change how courts calculate damages, and it would narrow the circumstances in which a person can petition for post-grant review of a patent. Meanwhile, with three races undecided through Nov. 14, the majority party's power in the Senate could grow from the 57 it had after gaining eight seats in the Nov. 4 elections. Two contests featuring incumbent Republicans are in recounts: in Alaska between Sen. Ted Stevens and Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich, and in Minnesota between Sen. Norm Coleman and talk show host Al Franken. In Georgia, incumbent Republican Saxby Chambliss faces a runoff against Democrat Jim Martin after neither won at least 50 percent of votes in the general election. - Sue Darcey ([email protected]) |