As you enjoy the holiday weekend, keep in mind that next week we will likely see final passage of the Patent Reform Act of 2011 (a.k.a. the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act). The President would then sign the Bill into law a few days later.
Particulars:
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The House and Senate have each already overwhelmingly passed parallel patent reform legislation. H.R. 1249 and S. 23. The two bills have some minor differences — the primary difference probably being that the Senate version does a better job of solidifying PTO funding.
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Rather than negotiate a compromise bill in conference, Senate leadership has decided instead to scrap S. 23 and bring the House bill to the floor for a vote (and potential amendment).
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On Tuesday, September 6, 2011 in the evening at 5:30 pm (Eastern) the Senate is scheduled to vote to invoke Cloture on H.R. 1249.
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Once Cloture has been invoked, there can be no more than 30 hours of debate on the bill and only amendments that have been filed before the cloture vote may be considered once cloture is invoked. Finally, according to Senate rules, once cloture is invoked the Senate may not consider any other matters until the matter is disposed-of.
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If amendments are approved prior to passage, the bill would return for to the House for approval. As of September 2, 2011, no amendments to H.R. 1249 have been filed in the Senate. (According to the Library of Congress Bill Summary).
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Despite a lack of clear funding requirements, the USPTO fully supports H.R. 1249 and believes that the bill will allow the agency to collect and spend at a much higher rate than today. USPTO Director Kappos has argued that the additional funding “will give [the PTO] the ability to examine work given to us by U.S. innovators much more effectively, so they can produce products and services and economic opportunity much more quickly. . . . “What we’ll see is a job-creation engine turned loose.”
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Sen. Leahy and Reid argue that the reforms will lead to 200,000 American jobs. [Upcoming Link: Patent Attorneys Call BS]