[Ecommerce] IP Newsletter: Patent reform 2005

[Manon Ress]

The latest version of the Hiscock & Barclay IP Newsletter is available
online at:

http://www.hiscockbarclay.com/pdf/IP405.pdf

SNIP
IP H.E.A.D.L.I.N.E.S
Patent Reform?
Beginning Monday, April 25, 2005, the Intellectual Property
Subcommittee, a subcommittee of the United States Senate Judiciary
Committee, held two days of hearings on reforming the patent system. In
April alone, high ranking officials of IBM, Microsoft and Oracle have
all called the U.S. patent broken and in need of serious overhaul to
ensure that only valid patents are issued. These and other large
corporations want the patent laws to be rewritten to make it easier to
challenge patents after they re granted. The goal is to try and curb
what is viewed by many as abusive litigation. Microsoft s General
Counsel, Brad Smith, has said that each year Microsoft is forced to
spend $100 million to defend 35 to 40 patent litigations where the
patent being asserted should never have been issued. The United States
Chamber of Commerce is backing a proposal that would make post issuance
review and oppositions available, which would substantially alert the
patent prosecution process. Currently there is no meaningful way to
participate in an opposition fashion, and post issuance review is
limited to reexamination proceedings, which are considered by many to be
hardly helpful unless a smokinggun piece of prior art can be found.


--
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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