Recent Articles

March 7, 2011
Patents, Reform and the Little Guy
Editorial, The New York Times

January 30, 2011
Delaware's corporate heavyweights supporting patent reform bill
By Jonathan Starkey, The Wilmington News Journal

Washington lawmakers are taking another shot at patent reform — and corporate Delaware is taking notice.

January 25, 2011
Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy On The Introduction Of The Patent Reform Act of 2011

January 16, 2011
Despite efforts to improve, U.S. patent approvals move slower
By John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel

A year and a half after President Barack Obama appointed an IBM Corp. executive to fix the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, its problems by several key measures have only worsened, as damage inflicted by years of congressional raids on its funding continues to make it all but impossible for the agency to keep up with its workload.

June 21, 2010
CNN Money: "Want More Jobs? Fix the Broken Patent System"
After decades of inaction, lawmakers are finally closing in on a sweeping overhaul of America's antiquated, underfunded and extremely broken patent process. The popular move could help spur much-needed innovation and job creation -- but first, it has to get through a Senate logjam.

Bipartisanship lives where rancor rules
Lawmakers who will tussle over court nominee collaborate on other issues
MSNBC

Patent bill jeopardizes life sciences innovation
Opinion Editorial by Sidney Taurel (Eli Lilly and Co.)
Indystar.com

An Argument for Eliminating the Defense of Patent Unenforceability Based on Inequitable Conduct (PDF)
By John F. Lynch
AIPLA Quarterly Journal Vol 16:7

Holdup, Royalty Stacking, and the Presumption of Injunctive Relief for Patent Infringement: A Reply to Lemley and Shapiro
By J. Gregory Sidak

J Gregory Sidak, Visiting Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center, disputes many of the findings of Professors Mark Lemley and Carl Shapiro presented in a theoretical argument for weakening the presumption of injunctive relief in patent infringement cases. He also disputes the Lemley-Shapiro policy prescriptions for patent law reform, which would remove the presumption of injunctive relief in cases where the patented product is a component of a larger product or the patentee is a non-practicing entity. He concludes that "a high priority for any revision of patent policy should be to create a more efficient market for the rights to inventions. Much of the debate over patent holdup and royalty stacking would subside if an “information market” were created to objectively value a disputed patent for purposes of calculating damages or reasonable royalties."Read the full paper (PDF)

“Reform” of Patent Damages: S. 1145 and H.R. 1908
by William C. Rooklidge

William C. Rooklidge, a partner at Howrey LLP's Irvine, CA office and former president of the American Intellectual Property Law Association has authored a paper focusing on the damages section of H.R. 1908. Rooklidge writes the proposed language is "more akin to 'repeal' than 'reform'” and that upon close inspection the proposed legislation would not codify existing law, and in fact would make substantial changes destructive to the patent system. Read the full paper (PDF)

Coalition Members Ranked Among the "World's 50 Most Innovative Companies"

BusinessWeek magazine recently ranked “The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies.” Several members of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform were among those listed by BusinessWeek, including General Electric, Procter and Gamble, 3M, Motorola, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, Merck and ExxonMobil.

For more on this from BusinessWeek magazine:
http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/most_innovative/index.asp

Coalition Members Top Ranked Among "America's Most Respected Companies"

Fortune magazine recently ranked several members of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform among "America's Most Respected Companies," including #1 ranked General Electric. Other coalition member companies included on Fortune's list were Johnson & Johnson (#9), Procter & Gamble (#10), 3M (#14) and PepsiCo (#19).

A number of coalition member companies were also ranked as the most admired companies in their respective industries. These companies include DuPont (Chemicals) Exxon Mobile (Petroleum Refining), General Electric (Electronics), Procter & Gamble (Household and Personal Products), Texas Instruments (Semiconductors) and United Technologies (Aerospace and Defense).

For more on this from Fortune magazine:
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2007/index.html

Reform of patent law seems probable as obstacles clear
Financial Times. February 28, 2007