OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Letter to The Honorable Harry Reid, Majority Leader United States Senate

Letter

Date: Sept. 15, 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Government Operations

September 15, 2010

The Honorable Harry Reid

Majority Leader

United States Senate

S-221, U.S. Capitol

Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Majority Leader Reid:

We request that you bring the Managers' Amendment to S. 515, the Patent Reform Act, to the Senate floor for consideration as soon as possible.

A well functioning and efficient patent system is critical to American invention and innovation, which are the cornerstones of our economy and job creation. Patents granted represent jobs for the American people -- jobs developing and producing new products and services, jobs bringing these products and services to the market, and jobs selling these products and services to consumers here and abroad. Strengthening our patent system and spurring innovation and investment is an action we should take now to stimulate our economy.

The bipartisan Managers' Amendment to S. 515 released by the Judiciary Committee would speed the patent application process, reducing the three-year wait that inventors must endure before obtaining their patents and securing the funding needed to place new products on the market. This comprehensive patent reform legislation would also allow the public to bring forward relevant information to the USPTO during the patent examination process and after the patent has been granted, improving the clarity and quality of patents and providing greater confidence in their validity and enforceability. The Managers' Amendment would also move the U.S. patent system into greater harmony with the rest of the world and bring greater predictability to patent infringement litigation, enabling inventors and businesses to dedicate more resources to inventing and bringing those inventions to market.

Patent reform is bipartisan legislation, supported by the Administration, that will improve the economy and create jobs without adding to the deficit. We urge you to schedule the Managers' Amendment for debate as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

PATRICK LEAHY
JEFF SESSIONS
HERB KOHL
ORRIN HATCH
ARLEN SPECTER
JON KYL
SHELDON WHITEHOUSE
RICHARD G. LUGAR
AMY KLOBUCHAR
THAD COCHRAN
EDWARD E. KAUFMAN
CHRISTOPHER S. BOND
JOSEPH I. LIEBERMAN
SAM BROWNBACK
BILL NELSON
RICHARD BURR
FRANK LAUTENBERG
ROGER WICKER
ROBERT MENENDEZ
GEORGE S. LEMIEUX
SHERROD BROWN
ROBERT P. CASEY, Jr.
CLAIRE MCCASKILL
ROLAND BURRIS
KIRSTEN E. GILLIBRAND


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