Senate Panel Backs Patent Overhaul Bill

mvar writes "A bill to reduce the likelihood of massive damage awards in patent disputes took a step forward with approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee voted 15-0 to back the legislation that would give judges a major role in determining how important a particular patent is to a product, so that infringing minor patents would not lead to huge damages. The bill (PDF) also gives patents to the first inventor to file, rather than the first to invent, making the patent application process easier for companies who apply for patents in multiple countries. This year, Microsoft, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and the Biotechnology Industry Organization support the patent legislation, while Dell, Cisco and others oppose it." Microsoft's blog post in support of patent reform calls for a quick review period for newly-granted patents and the acceptance of prior art submissions from third parties.

Comments

Re:WTF?

[a_n_d_e_r_s]

Perfect now big companies can steal ideas from other countries and patent them in the USA. And the smaller damages means it won't cost as much for Microsoft and other big companies when they are convicted of infringing on others patents. This is really good for big companies that like to infringe on smaller companies patents.

Re:WTF?

[Svartalf]

That only benefits the big companies... Filing is friggin' expensive. Tens of thousands of dollars are involved with the filing of a Patent. First to file means whomever has the resources will get to it first. That's NOT reform.

Re:WTF?

[Sonny Yatsen]

Well, there are two major reasons why a first-to-file system may be advantageous. First, the United States is unique among the nations of the world in having a first-to-invent system. This means an inventor can gain priority over another inventor who filed before the first inventor if he can prove that they invented something first. Every single other country in the world uses a first-to-file system. To change US law to permit the first-to-file system would harmonize US law with every single other country's laws, simplifying the matter for inventors. It also gets rid of weird results like a family of patents that protect in every other country but the US.

Secondly, it's cheaper for all parties. A first-to-file system can determine who gains priority in a patent by simply looking at the dates. On the other hand, a first-to-invent system almost always devolves into massive lumbering multi-million dollar litigation suits where hundreds of attorneys and document reviewers pour though millions of pages of notes to prove one party reduced something to practice before another party. It also takes years to go through the courts, which is not helped by the already heavy backlog of cases in the Federal Courts. Plus, while a first-to-file system doesn't help the small inventor, a 102(g) fight priority fight in the courts REALLY doesn't help small inventors. They can't afford the potential millions of dollars that may be lost permanently if they lose such a case, or even to settle.