Compromise Reached, Manager’s Amendment Promised Post-Recess

With many fearing that the Senate Judiciary Committee had lost their way on S.1720 known as The Patent Transparency & Improvement Act, news comes today that after weeks of partisan wrangling compromise has finally been reached. Senator Leahy posted the following statement on his webpage minutes ago:

For weeks, members of the Judiciary Committee have been engaged in extensive bipartisan negotiations on legislation to address abuses in the patent system.  We have made enormous progress, and we now have a broad bipartisan agreement in principle.  This is a complex issue and we need additional time to draft the important provisions that have been the subject of discussion.

I have talked to many Senators on both sides, and because I want to be sure everyone is comfortable with how these pieces fit together, I will circulate a manager’s package the day we return from recess, and the Judiciary Committee will consider that legislation the first week we are back.