Patent system revamping proposed in new House bill [ip]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Text of bill:
http://patentlaw.typepad.com/patact.pdf

---

    For Immediate Release:  June 8, 2005 
                                                         Contact: Blair 
Jones, Press Secretary (202) 225-4236

  Smith Introduces Patent Reform Bill

Washington, DC − Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) today introduced the 
Patent Reform Act of 2005, legislation to improve the quality of patents 
issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and to reform certain 
patent practices that disrupt the operations of high−tech companies and 
other businesses.


“The bill in its current form is, without question, the most 
comprehensive change to U.S. patent law since Congress passed the 1952 
Patent Act,” said Smith.


“The Intellectual Property Subcommittee has undertaken such 
responsibility because the changes are necessary to bolster the U.S. 
economy and improve the quality of living for all Americans,” Smith noted.


“The bill will eliminate legal gamesmanship from the current system that 
rewards lawsuit abuses over creativity. It will enhance the quality of 
patents and increase public confidence in their legal integrity,” said 
Smith.


“This will help individuals and companies obtain seed money for 
research, commercialize their inventions, grow their businesses, create 
new jobs, and offer the American public a dazzling array of products and 
services that make our country the envy of the world,” Smith commented.


“All businesses, small and large, will benefit.  All industries directly 
or indirectly affected by patents, including finance, automotive 
manufacturing, high-tech, and pharmaceuticals, will profit,” Smith 
noted.


“The bill is a good first-cut of what we envisioned when this process 
commenced.  No doubt, it will undergo changes as we proceed to markup,” 
Smith concluded.


The Patent Act:



·         Provides that the right to a patent will be awarded to the 
first inventor to file for a patent who provides an adequate disclosure 
for a claimed invention;

·         Simplifies the process by which an applicant takes an oath 
governing the particulars of an invention and the identity of the 
rightful inventor

·         Deletes the “best mode” requirement from §112 of the Patent 
Act, which lists certain “specifications” that an inventor must set 
forth in an application.

·         Codifies the law related to inequitable conduct in connection 
with patent proceedings before the PTO;

·         Clarifies the rights of an inventor to damages for patent 
infringement;

·         Authorizes courts with jurisdiction over patent cases to grant 
injunctions in accordance with the principles of equity to prevent the 
violation of patent rights;

·         Authorizes the PTO to limit by regulation the circumstances in 
which patent applicants may file a continuation and still be entitled to 
priority date of the parent application;

·         Expands the 18 month publication feature to all applications;

·         Creates a new post−grant opposition system;

·         Allows third-party submission of prior art within six months 
after the date of publication of the patent application.




¨ Committee on the Judiciary, Chairman, Subcommittee on the Courts, the 
Internet, and Intellectual Property

¨ Committee on Science  ¨ Committee on Standards of Official Conduct ¨ 
Committee on Homeland Security


2184 Rayburn House Office Bldg.  ¨   Washington, D.C.  ¨   20515  s 
202-225-4236   ¨   http://lamarsmith.house.gov



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