The House Judiciary Committee will mark up the...
The House Judiciary Committee will mark up the Innovation Act (HR-3309) Wednesday, continuing committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte’s “ambitious” timeline for bringing the bill to the House floor. The markup is occurring despite a request from committee ranking member John Conyers,…
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D-Mich., and seven other members of the committee asking for an additional hearing on the bill before a markup (CD Nov 12 p9). The markup is set to begin at 11:15 a.m. in 2141 Rayburn. An amended version of HR-3309 posted Monday effectively removed a controversial provision that would have expanded and made permanent a U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covered business method (CBM) patent review program (http://1.usa.gov/19AsEZM). Multiple software industry stakeholders had declared opposition to an expansion of the amendment, with Christopher Padilla, IBM vice president-governmental programs, saying in a letter to Goodlatte R-Va., Friday that IBM would oppose HR-3309 if it included the CBM provision. Reps. Doug Collins, R-Ga., and Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., spearheaded an amendment, originally set for consideration at Wednesday’s markup, which would have removed the CBM provision from HR-3309. Collins said in a statement that the new version of HR-3309 leaves the program “intact,” which is “great news for patent reform.” Collins said he appreciates Goodlatte’s “leadership in facilitating an open dialogue with the committee and allowing this change, which reflects the position of a growing, bipartisan group.” In the run-up to HR-3309’s markup, Goodlatte’s staff met Monday with industry stakeholders to discuss the bill. CEA President Gary Shapiro confirmed at a news conference Monday that the meeting’s participants included Michael Petricone, CEA senior vice president-government and regulatory affairs.