03 September 2007

Will US Patent Reform pass Congress in September?

Will the US Congress pass Patent Reform legislation this month?

IPO vs. Professor Crouch: In a rare attack on an academic’s view, IPO notes the pronouncement by Professor Dennis Crouch that the legislation will not be enacted by Congress, Congressional Patent Reform is Dead; Long Live Administrative Patent Reform, Patently O (August 30, 2007). Prof. Crouch reminded his readers that several months ago he had --
"declared that new patent legislation [to be] effectively blocked within Congress.…[L]egislative reform is, for the most part, a sideshow as the executive and judicial branches are still running with the ball."

IPO patronizingly notes that "a majority of lobbyists in Washington, who talk to members of Congress every day for and against the legislation, are convinced that some form of it will pass this year or next." (IPO Daily News).

It would be good to take a deep, deep breath, step back, and see just why there are entrenched interests that will be big losers if the current patent reform proposals are enacted, which is precisely why Professor Crouch will be vindicated at the end of the day as patent reform legislation ultimately stalls in the United States Senate.

Hal Wegner, Washington

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