The Patent Reform Act was passed by the House of Representatives
on Friday. It must be passed by a vote of the Senate and signed by
the President before becoming law.
The bill's supporters said that it was aimed at improving the
quality of patents awarded and cutting down on the amount of
expensive litigation over patents that takes place. The law
proposes a cut in the damages that can be awarded for patent
infringement.
It also changes the basis on which patents are awarded. The US
is unusual in awarding patents to the first person to invent a
technology. The bill proposes that a patent be awarded to the first
person to file a patent application. This is easier to determine
and, proponents hope, will result in less litigation.
Software publishers' lobby group the Business Software Alliance,
which represents companies such as Microsoft and Apple, had backed
the new law, which it says goes some way towards fixing a 'broken'
patent system. The large hi-tech companies lobby says that the
current system plays into the hands of abusive patent litigation
and opportunism.
The bill was passed by just 220 votes to 175 with Democrats
largely backing it. The 60 Republicans who voted for the bill were
almost cancelled out by the 58 Democrats who crossed the floor and
voted against it.
Innovation Alliance is a lobby group which represents smaller
technology companies such as InterDigital and Qualcomm. It says
that the new law could end up costing small businesses and
universities money. Spokeswoman Susan Mora said that it was not
acceptable to change the law "so patent infringers can reduce their
supposedly soaring litigation costs".
The pharmaceutical industry, which earns its money through
licences from drugs it invents, has opposed the change and said
that it has been motivated by sector-specific concerns from large
software publishers.
There are said to be concerns in the White House about the fact
that the new law limits a judge's discretion in awarding patent
violation damages. Even if passed by the Senate the law could be
blocked by a veto from US President George W Bush.
