The letter, sent on Tuesday, was addressed to Senator Harry Reid, a Democrat from Nevada, and Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican from Kentucky. The two politicians are the sponsors of bill S1145, which is pending in the US Senate. If passed, it would introduce substantial changes to the US patent system.
The letter was prepared by the Innovation Alliance, a group that has come out strongly against S1145. Its signatories include the Biotechnology Industry Association, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, InterDigital, BASF and PepsiCo.
The letter says that the proposed Senate bill would "weaken the enforceability of validly issued patents," and that "provisions such as an expanded apportionment of damages, an indefinite post-grant opposition process, excessive venue restrictions, burdensome and expensive mandatory search requirements, and unworkable interlocutory appeal provisions, pose serious negative consequences for continued innovation and American technological leadership in a competitive global economy".
Other concerns about the bill outlined in the letter include its approach to the subject of inequitable conduct and what the authors say is its failure to consider recent Supreme Court decisions and the imminent USPTO rule changes, which will also greatly impact the patent community.
In a statement, William Jones, chairman of Cummins-Allison Corporation and one of the letter’s signatories, said: "When opposition to a bill is so broad-based that it unites the range of American innovation from large manufacturers to small technology startups across all 50 states and DC, you know that the bill has tremendous capacity to damage the entire American economy."
S1145 has yet to make it to the Senate floor, but negotiations are ongoing, and many politicians and business representatives are pushing for it to be heard this congressional session.
On September 7, the House of Representatives narrowly backed another bill dealing with patent reform – HR1908 – by 220 votes to 175, following a two-hour debate.
If S1145 were to pass in the Senate, it is likely that a conference will be held to reconcile the two bills, as they differ in several ways. The differences include their approach to capping the window for opposition to a patent and the way in which they each introduce the first-inventor-to-file rule.
