H.R. 6621 Clear All Congressional Hurdles

Late last week, the Senate passed H.R. 6621 with amendment (passed days earlier by the House). The Senate amendment removed the provision requiring a USPTO report on the remaining pre-Gatt patent applications (i.e., “submarine patents”). The pre-Gatt provision was the only one that drew any opposition in the House. As such, the amended bill was accepted by the House without objection (late last night) and will now be enacted into law by the President.

As a reminder, the main benefit of the technical amendment is the elimination of the post grant dead zone.