Patent Reform
POPA Joins Unions in Opposition to Patent Reform Act
POPA has joined several other major labor unions in opposition to the Patent Reform Act of 2007, S. 1145. The coalition of unions sent a letter to every U.S. Senator. In addition, POPA has signed with over 485 other corporations, associations and unions in a full page advertisement that ran in the newspaper Roll Call when the Senate went back in session. See POPA's position paper on the proposed Patent Reform Act.
POPA Meets With Congress on Patent Reform Act
POPA's Legislative Committee, President Robert D. Budens, Treasurer Randy Myers, and former president Ronald Stern, met with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Chairman Howard Berman of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property on Wednesday to discuss POPA's concerns with the proposed Patent Reform Act of 2007, H.R. 1908. In that meeting, Mr. Hoyer and Mr. Berman committed to work with POPA to address our concerns with the legislation as the bill moves to the Senate and Conference Committee including highlighting some of our concerns in a Manager's Amendment as well as meeting with us in the weeks to come to discuss our remaining issues. In view of the commitments of Majority Leader Hoyer and Chairman Berman, POPA has sent a letter thanking them for meeting with us and informing them that POPA will not oppose bringing H.R. 1908 to a vote of the House of Representatives.
POPA Opposes Patent Reform Act
POPA has sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee and a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908 and S. 1145) and providing a copy of POPA's position paper on the legislation. As presently written, the Patent Reform Act will hurt -- not help -- America's well-being by weakening the U.S. Patent System. POPA opposes the Applicant Quality Submission because the USPTO wants to transfer the search from patent examiners to patent applicants, bypassing the outsourcing protections of 35 U.S.C. 41(d). POPA also opposes changes to lessen the penalties for inequitable conduct, substantive rule making authority for setting new types of fees, eliminating the Best Mode requirement, changing to a first-inventor-to-file system without a grace period for inventors, and changes to the apportionment of damages in infringement cases.