PUBPAT News: PUBPAT Executive Director Testifies Before U.S. House of Representatives on Patent Reform

Date:  Thu, 2007-02-15

Dr. David E. Martin February 15, 2007

PUBPAT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TESTIFIES BEFORE U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ON PATENT REFORM

NEW YORK — February 15, 2007 — Public Patent Foundation (“PUBPAT”) Executive Director, Dan Ravicher, will testify today to the U.S. House of Representatives on the subject of patent reform. Ravicher will begin with an opening statement and then answer questions from Representatives on the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, including Chairman Howard Berman (D-CA) and Ranking Member Howard Coble (R-NC), at the oversight hearing on “American Innovation at Risk: The Case for Patent Reform” scheduled for 2:00 pm this afternoon.

“The interests of the non-patent holding public are almost always absent from any meaningful participation in decision making about the patent system, despite the fact that they bear the brunt of its burdens,” Ravicher stated in written testimony submitted as part of his testimony at the hearing. “As with any body of law that applies to and affects all Americans, patent policy should be made with consideration of all of the public’s interests, not just the specific interests of patent holders, patent practitioners, and large commercial actors.”

Patent reform has been a topic of extensive discussion in Washington the past few years, with both the House and Senate introducing bills and holding hearings on the subject. Many of the most frequently discussed proposals aim to improve patent quality, such as by limiting the ability of patent applicants to file unlimited numbers of continuation applications and by creating a post-grant opposition procedure allowing the public to more efficiently challenge the validity of issued patents. In his written testimony, Ravicher commented on these specific proposals and also raised several other ways in which the patent system should be reformed.

More information about PUBPAT’s testimony to the House of Representatives on patent reform, including a complete copy of Mr. Ravicher’s written statement, can be found at http://www.pubpat.org/advocacypolicy.htm. The hearing can be seen live by webcast via the House of Representative’s website below this post: