By Christopher P. Singer --
The Senate Judiciary Committee held an Executive Business Meeting today to discuss, among other topics, the pending Patent Reform Bill, S. 515. The recorded meeting can be viewed here. [Note: the portion relating to S. 515 begins just after the 11 minute mark]. Most of the discussion relating to S. 515 regarded a proposed amendment to the bill, Amendment GRA09350. This amendment, which was adopted by the Committee and open to amendment, is sponsored by Senators Leahy, Hatch, Whitehouse, Specter, Feinstein, and Kyl. While there was little discussion of the specific provisions of the amendment, Senator Leahy provided a general overview of the amendment, stating that it introduces a number of technical and clarifying amendments to tighten the language of the bill. According to Senator Leahy, adopting the Amendment would open S. 515 for further amendment, moving the bill closer to being ready for debate in the Senate. In general, the committee members seemed to believe that S. 515, once modified, will be ready the floor of Senate (sooner, rather than later).
In her comments, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) said that while she applauds the general goal of the reform bill, she still believes that more work needs to be done. Citing particularly to the proposed damages provision as the major roadblock, she stated that the communities on opposing sides of the issue will need to compromise if the bill has any chance of success. Senator Feinstein referred to the Committee's March 10 hearing concerning Reform (see "Senate Judiciary Committee Holds Hearing on Patent Reform") and reiterated that perhaps reworking the existing damages provision to one that codifies the fifteen Georgia-Pacific factors and has the presiding judge serving as a gatekeeper would help to move the debate and discussion forward. She was also quick to acknowledge that she is very open to considering other options, saying that she "wasn't married" to the particular gatekeeper plus Georgia-Pacific factors approach on damages.
Whatever the end result may be, the Committee members appeared to be very committed to getting the existing bill into a form that has a real chance at passing once it hits the Senate floor for debate.
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