By Donald Zuhn --
On April 1st, we reported on a press release issued by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) concerning a report from the Coalition for Patent Fairness that the Senate patent reform bill (S. 1145) would soon be coming to a vote. BIO disputed this report, stating that the organization was unaware of any "deal" or consensus that would result in the bill coming to a vote. Now, almost three weeks later, it would appear the Senate patent reform bill has hit a snag and that BIO -- and not the Coalition for Patent Fairness –- may have been right.
Even more intriguing was an e-mail we received last Friday from a Patent Docs reader, who informed us that based on information the reader had received from a lobbyist, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) may be scrambling to save the bill. According to the reader, Senator Leahy (at left) may be deleting Section 15 from the bill at the possible request of Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV). Section 15, which is entitled "Patent and Trademark Office Funding," would put a permanent end to fee diversion. While fee diversion has not been a problem for the past five years (a point that John White made when he visited with MBHB attorneys in February, and which the Senate Judiciary Committee noted in its Draft Report on the bill in January), it could readily become a problem once again. The reader is curious to know whether any other readers have heard about the deletion of Section 15 or of Senator Leahy's push to save the bill.
Comments