200 companies express further concerns over Patent Reform Act of 2007June 20, 2007

The hits just keep on coming for the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908 and S. 1145). Over the past two weeks, Chief Judge Paul Michel of the Federal Circuit sent two letters criticizing portions of the Act. Before that, a group of Senators noted their concerns with the Act. Just after the Act was introduced, a coalition of over 100 companies expressed their concerns about the act. Now, many of those same companies, along with over a hundred more, have written another letter expressing their opposition to several provisions of the Patent Reform Act of 2007.

The letter targets what have emerged as the three most controversial provisions in the Act: apportionment of damages, an open-ended post-grant review procedure, and enhanced rulemaking authority for the USPTO.

In addition to this letter, Representative James Sensenbrenner has also written a letter to Representative John Conyers, Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. In his letter, he notes ten issues that have received little or no discussion in the hearings that have been held on the Act thus far in the House, and requests that before the bill is advanced out of committee that hearings be held to answer questions regarding the issues he raises.

With the flurry of letters being sent to Congress (and within Congress), opposition to the Patent Reform Act of 2007 appears to be building. We'll be monitoring the status of the legislation to see whether changes are made in response to these various concerns.

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