Innovation Act Heads to Floor Debate for Last Push in 2013
Now that the Goodlatte Bill, also knows as the Innovation Act (H.R. 3309), has been reported out of the Judiciary Committee there will be a second round of amendment opportunities. The new amendments will be collected from house lawmakers on Monday December 2nd, and the Rules Committee is expected to calendar floor debate shortly thereafter (likely Wednesday or Thursday). It is expected that some of the same amendments that failed during committee markup will be reintroduced, along with a raft of others. Post grant patent issues are expected to be hotly debated, especially those pertaining to the potential expansion of Covered Business Method (CBM) patent challenges.
The Innovation Act remains on the fast track heading into the close of 2013. Meanwhile, the Leahy Bill will sit idle for the time being. While significant progress can be made in the next few weeks, it seems unlikely that any legislation will be passed into law until early 2014.