IEEE voices opposition to the Patent Reform Act of 2007August 28, 2007

As reported at the Patent Prospector, the U.S. organizational unit of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA) has sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Speaker Nancy Pelosi opposing the Patent Reform Act of 2007.

In a nutshell, the IEEE-USA's view is:

We believe that much of the legislation is a disincentive to inventiveness, and stifles new businesses and job growth by threatening the financial rewards available to innovators in U.S. industry. Passage of the current patent reform bill language would only serve to relax the very laws designed to protect American innovators and prevent infringement of their ideas.

. . .

IEEE-USA believes that, left as is, the patent reform legislation will create an environment that is harmful to individual inventors and small businesses. We are concerned that [the Patent Reform Act of 2007] favors the companies with the financial resources that enable them to tread on others' patent rights by commercializing works and inventions they did not create.

The IEEE-USA was also a signatory on a letter signed by over 200 organizations and companies opposing the legislation in June.

With the IEEE-USA (the U.S. unit of the largest technical professional organization in the world) and the AFL-CIO (the largest federation of trade unions in the United States) both coming out against the Patent Reform Act of 2007, perhaps when Congress returns to session next month a hard look will be taken at several of the provisions that are almost universally disfavored (except by the likes of the Coalition for Patent Fairness).

To read the full letter, click here.

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