Bipartisan Leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee Renew Efforts to Advance Patent Reform

On March 4, 2010, leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that they reached an agreement on amendments to the 2009 Patent Reform Act. Senator Leahy (D-Vt.), Chairman of the Senate panel, insists that "we are closer than ever to advancing patent reform legislation through the Senate." From the other side of the aisle, Senator Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) believes that the recent agreement "would institute reforms that significantly streamline and strengthen the U.S. Patent System."

The proposed agreement tightens the requirements for post-grant review and willful infringement and establishes a patent owner-friendly supplemental examination process for disclosing prior art after grant. The agreement retains several critical improvements in the 2009 Senate bill, including the transition to a first-inventor-to-file system and provisions relating to determination of infringement damages.

For the full text of the amended bill click here.