House Passes Bill on Pilot Program for Patent Judges

On March 17, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill "to establish a pilot program in certain United States district courts to encourage enhancement of expertise in patent cases among district judges." The bill, H.R. 628 , was sponsored by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has introduced a virtually identical bill, S. 299 , in the Senate. S. 299 has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.