Manzullo Opposing Major Changes in Patent System

A press release from Congressman Don Manzuloo:

Manzullo Co-Authors Two Amendments to Ease Damage Caused by “Patent Reform” Legislation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL), a leader on patent reform issues, has co-authored two amendments to help ease the damage that would be caused by the so-called “patent reform” legislation scheduled to be on the House floor this Wednesday.

An amendment co-authored by Manzullo, Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) and Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) would strike nearly the entire bill but allow the fee diversion section to stand. The fee diversion section would allow the Patent & Trademark Office to keep all of the fees it raises and use the money to hire more staff and purchase better equipment to eliminate the huge backlog in patent cases.

Congress currently diverts some of the patent fee money to other programs.

Another amendment authored by Manzullo would strike Section 10 of the bill that would allow the Director of the PTO to set patent fees.

Manzullo believes elected Members of Congress should continue to have the ability to set fees.

Don Manzullo

The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday to set the rules for the floor debate and determine what amendments will be allowed for a vote on the house floor Wednesday.

Manzullo is opposed to The American Invents Act (HR 1249) because it dramatically alters America’s successful 220-year-old patent system and would make it easier for foreign multi-national corporations to take American innovation overseas along with our jobs.

HR 1249 would switch America’s patent system from “first to invent” to “first to file” that would turn our system into a race to the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO).

This change would put America’s small inventors at a huge disadvantage against their larger, foreign competitors with resources to more quickly patent their products.

Manzullo also believes the bill is unconstitutional (the Supreme Court just last week reaffirmed that patent rights belong to the inventor) and unnecessarily adds a new post-grant review provision that will further delay the patent process.


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