With the prompting of President Obama, legislators in the United States Congress introduced two expansive bills and four narrower ones early this year. Many thought that legislation to address perceived problems with the U.S. patent system, including lawsuits by nonpracticing entities and unintended consequences of the post-grant proceedings created by the America Invents Act, would pass. The White House urged reform as did some justices on the U.S. Supreme Court and many members of Congress. Reform thus seemed inevitable in 2015. But it appears that 2015 will now end without new patent legislation. In this article, Finnegan attorneys Lionel M. Lavenue, R. Benjamin Cassady, and Michael L. Su discuss the status of patent reform.
Previously published by Law 360
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