The amendments include changes to provisions on interlocutory appeals and derivation proceedings. Another amendment addressed the former discrepancy between S1145’s provision on wilful infringement and the August 2007 decision in In re Seagate by codifying the “objective recklessness” standard.
According to the Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO), the amendments are chiefly technical in nature and do not address the most hotly debated aspects of the bill, such as venue, damages and post-grant review.
In a recent IPO Daily News update, IPO said it believes Senate leaders will try to pass the bill in April or May 2008. Many groups have spoken out against certain provisions of S1145, and have called for significant revisions to the bill before it is passed.
On September 7, the House of Representatives passed HR 1908 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. These 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.
