Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has announced that he won’t be seeking re-election to the Senate for a ninth term. First elected in 1974, Senator Leahy has spent nearly 50 years in the Senate, focused on a wide variety of issues. Intellectual property is one of those issues, and it’s an issue where he’s been a…
Blog Posts
Sens. Leahy and Tillis to Chief Justice Roberts: Something’s Up In Waco
by Josh Landau •
The Senate Judiciary Committee’s IP Subcommittee had an active day yesterday with members sending out a pair of letters that suggest that they see some serious problems in the patent system. The first letter, sent by both Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Tillis to Chief Justice Roberts, in his role as head of the Judicial…
Widespread Support for IEEE 2015 Patent Policy
by Josh Landau •
In 2015, the IEEE made changes to its Patent Policy for standard-essential patents (SEPs). Among other things, that policy strongly disfavored seeking injunctive relief for SEPs because injunctive relief permits using the threat of enjoining an entire product to extract a royalty that covers more than the value contributed by the patent. The policy also…
Arthrex, Mobility Workx, and Director Review at Institution
by Josh Landau •
There’s been a fair amount of discussion regarding Judge Newman’s dissent in last week’s Mobility Workx case. In Mobility Workx, a divided panel of the Federal Circuit rejected a variety of constitutional challenges to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Judges Dyk and Schall, in the majority, found no merit in the due process…
Leahy and Cornyn Introduce Bill To Restore The America Invents Act
by Josh Landau •
Yesterday, Senate Judiciary IP Subcommittee Chair Sen. Leahy (D-VT) and committee member Sen. Cornyn (R-TX) introduced the Restoring the America Invents Act (RAIA). RAIA would roll back changes introduced by former USPTO Director Andrei Iancu and by the courts, restoring the America Invents Act (AIA) to what it was always intended to be—a cost-effective alternative…
Fixing The ITC: Bipartisan Advancing America’s Interests Act Reintroduced
by Josh Landau •
A little over a year ago, Reps. DelBene (D-WA) and Schweikert (R-AZ) introduced the Advancing America’s Interests Act (AAIA). Unfortunately, no action was taken on it in the previous Congress. But last week, Reps. DelBene and Schweikert reintroduced the legislation. Hopefully it receives more attention and support in the current Congress.
Federal Circuit to Judge Albright: You Get An F
by Josh Landau •
In yet another mandamus order directed to the Western District of Texas, the Federal Circuit has once again explained to Judge Albright that his analysis of transfer motions is incorrect and ordered him to send a case elsewhere. It’s worth reading the entire order in In re Hulu, but if you don’t have time, I…
Guest Post: The Quality and Attributes of Patents as Property
by patentprogress.org •
David Jones is the Executive Director of the High Tech Inventors Alliance, an association that advocates for balanced reforms in the Patent and Trademark Office, the courts, and Congress that address the root causes of these problems while advancing a patent system that promotes investment in new technologies and American jobs. Over the past decade,…
Patent Quality Week: Public Interest Patents, The AIA At Ten, And More
by Josh Landau •
This week marks the first annual Patent Quality Week. Low quality patents can have huge negative impacts on business sectors from Main Street retailers to Silicon Valley startups, and everywhere in between. Coordinated by Engine, a policy advocate for startups, Patent Quality Week includes a number of events focused on patent quality and how it…
The ITC In 2020: Anything But Typical
by Josh Landau •
With the American republic having just had its 245th birthday, let’s take a look at an agency that’s charged with regulating trade with foreign countries, encouraging American industries, and protecting American labor. I’ve previously criticized the International Trade Commission (ITC) for having gone from being a trade court protecting U.S. domestic industry to being a…