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AIA Revisited

With last week’s 10-year anniversary of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA), and Senator Leahy still a powerful voice on the Senate Judiciary Committee, the timing may be right to refine the decade old statutes.  Indeed, over the past few months there have been a number of discussions inside the Beltway to consider potential updates.

While there will always be a small, vocal minority that would like to see the AIA go away entirely, it seems that only slight refinements to the existing statutes are on the foreseeable horizon.
Continue Reading The AIA at 10 — Congress Considers a Tune Up?

SCOTUS Declines to Wade Into 101 Morass

One of the more noteworthy IP law developments of 2019 was the patent subject matter eligibility (35 U.S.C. § 101) craze that swept Congress in the late spring of 2019.  With unprecedented marathon hearings, and almost universal agreement from dozens of witnesses on the unpredictable state of subject matter eligibility jurisprudence, a legislative fix appeared imminent. Yet, this craze was short-lived.  The significant momentum of the spring hearings fizzled into deadlock in late summer— then the entire effort was left for dead in the fall.  With Congress losing its traction, all eyes turned to the SCOTUS and the prominent cert petitions on the docket that raised the prospect of some form of 101 review from the high court.

But, the court denied all such cert petitions today. 
Continue Reading 101 Debate Punted Back to Congress

Lack of Stakeholder Consensus on 101 Effort

The sponsors of the promised bill to reform 35 U.S.C. § 101 are struggling to regain earlier momentum. It seems that the inclusion of the 112(f) provision (designed to bring Big Tech to the table on an otherwise unwelcome reform effort) has not been effective. Worse, the 112 provision has actually turned off some in Bio/Pharma. As such, the 101 bill promised back in July now appears to be slipping to October.

Given the recent complications, the Stronger Patents Act has been dusted off to remind Big Tech that, at least in theory, there could be much worse legislative consequences than a more patent friendly 101 statute. 
Continue Reading Political Theater & The Stronger Patents Act

Upcoming Event in DC to Explore a Host of Hot Topic Issues

One of the more cutting edge CLE events of the year is IAM’s Patent Law & Policy. The program explores the overlap in changing legal and political climates, especially relevant in a year of mid-term elections.

The program drills down to the…

Preserving Access to Cost Effective Drugs (PACED) Act

Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) along with Senators Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), David Perdue (R-Georgia) introduced the Preserving Access to Cost Effective Drugs (PACED) Act (S.2514), to “restore the power of the Patent and Trademark Office and federal courts, and the…