OFFICIALS LEGISLATION INTEREST GROUPS PUBLIC STATEMENTS COMMITTEES VETOES

Authorizing Pilot Program for Patent Cases

Floor Speech

Date: March 17, 2009
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Legal Housing and Property


AUTHORIZING PILOT PROGRAM FOR PATENT CASES -- (House of Representatives - March 17, 2009)

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Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, this bill will create a pilot program to help enhance district court expertise in patent cases. The United States patent system leads the world in its strength and effectiveness. For over two centuries, the incentives for innovation it supports have helped create the world's strongest economy. But to ensure that it continues to play this role, we must be mindful of whether it is working as efficiently as it could be and whether we can improve it.

In recent years, concern has arisen over the expense and duration of patent litigation, as well as the lack of consistency in the patent decisions that are handed down by district courts. This bill should help address both of those concerns. It is widely believed that the lack of experience and expertise that most district court judges have with respect to patent and plant variety protection cases is responsible for the wide divergence in their decisions in these cases and their high rate of reversal on appeal.

This bill establishes a pilot program to enable interested judges in certain district courts to gain increased expertise in adjudicating complex and technical patent and plant variety protection cases. This will create a cadre of judges who gain advanced knowledge of patent and plant variety protection through more intensified experience in handling the cases, along with special education and career development opportunities.

This should bring greater predictability in patent and plant variety protection decisions, as well as greater efficiency in the processing of all cases. The bill also sets forth reporting requirements to Congress, which will help us guide our future efforts to further improve the patent system.

H.R. 628 has bipartisan support in the Judiciary Committee and broad support from the patent bar and affected industry and trade groups. In 2006 a nearly identical bill, H.R. 5418, was reported by the Judiciary Committee and passed the House under suspension. The legislation passed the House again under suspension in the last Congress.

I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting it now.

I reserve the balance of my time.

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