The bill was added to the Senate calendar in January and was predicted to make it to the floor by April. However, the legislation has been stalled for some time due to a lack of agreement on key issues, such as reform of damages.

The bill’s demise appeared imminent last month when former USPTO solicitor John Whealan – who had been working closely with S1145’s sponsor, Senator Patrick Leahy, for the past year – announced his resignation.

On April 10, Senator Leahy said in a statement: “I am disappointed that just a handful of words have stalled the Senate’s debate on this important patent legislation. We have been working on these reforms for years. Thousands of hours have been spent in negotiations to address the concerns of 100 Senators, hundreds of Representatives, and dozens of stakeholders. This was a missed opportunity. I have said repeatedly that the time for patent reform is now. Unfortunately, some have yet to fully grasp this fact, and have stalled meaningful reform.”

Although its removal from the schedule does not necessarily mean that the bill is dead, it is unlikely to move forward in the near future.

In a statement sent to Managing IP, a spokesperson for the USPTO said: “The USPTO remains eager to work with Congress to pass a bill that will promote innovation across all business models.”