COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY ONE HUNDREDTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON S. 568 PROCESS PATENT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1987 S. 573 PROCESS PATENT ACT OF 1987 AND S. 635 OMNIBUS INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IMPROVEMENT ACT OF APRIL 22, 1987 Serial No. J-100-17 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary 74-129 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1987 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office DeConcini, Hon. Dennis, a U.S. Senator from the State of Arizona, chairman, Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., a U.S. Senator from the State of Utah.. Grassley, Hon. Charles E., a U.S. Senator from the State of Iowa... S. 568, the Process Patent Amendments Act of 1987. S. 573, the Process Patent Act of 1987. S. 635, the Omnibus Intellectual Property Rights Improvement Act of 1987...... CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Lautenberg, Hon. Frank, a U.S. Senator from the State of New Jersey Quigg, Hon. Donald J., Assistant Secretary and Commissioner of Patents and Massengill, Roy H., General Patent Counsel, Allied-Signal, Inc. Mossinghoff, Gerald J., President, Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. Haarz, David R., National Retail Merchants Association....... Engelberg, Alfred B., Patent Counsel, Generic Pharmaceutical Industry Asso- Kline, Robert C., President, American Intellectual Property Law Association... Witte, Richard C., Procter & Gamble Co., on behalf of Intellectual Property Owners, Inc., Chemical Manufacturers Association, and National Associa- Tramontine, John O., the New York Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law 120 Prepared statement of Richard D. Godown, President, Industrial Biotech- Witte, Richard C.: Testimony 104 Prepared statement on behalf of the Intellectual Property Owners, Inc.; 106 William Marshall Lee, Chairman, Section of Patent, Trademark and Albert L. Jacobs, of Jacobs & Jacobs, P.C., New York, NY, March 31, 1987 Richard T. Stouffer, President, Patent and Trademark Office Society, PROCESS PATENT LEGISLATION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 1987 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS, Washington, DC. The Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks met, pursuant to notice, at 9:31 a.m., in room 226, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Dennis DeConcini (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Also present: Senators Hatch and Grassley. Staff present: Ed Baxter, chief counsel; Tara McMahon, majority counsel; and Cecilia Swensen, legislative aide. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. DENNIS DeCONCINI, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF ARIZONA, CHAIRMAN, SENATE JUDICIARY SUBCOMMITTEE ON PATENTS, COPYRIGHTS AND TRADEMARKS Senator DECONCINI. The subcommittee will come to order. I am very pleased to be chairing a hearing on the issue of how best to provide improved patent protection for the patented process by which products are manufactured. The United States' competitiveness depends upon an effective patent system which keeps pace with rapidly emerging technology. Our laws must enable U.S. companies to protect themselves from the foreign manufacturers which steal American-owned technology and then use American innovations to compete with U.S.-manufactured products. Under today's system, U.S. process patent owners can prevent the unauthorized use of their process in the United States. However, under the current patent laws, they cannot prevent the unauthorized use of their process outside the United States, nor can they prevent sale in the United States of products made by their process. The proposed legislation would give patent owners the ability to sue for damages and an injunction in Federal district court when someone uses or sells in the United States, or imports into the United States, a product made by their patent process. I believe that there is basic agreement that our patent laws should be amended to provide this improved protection, but there remains a disagreement on some details of the proposed law. S. 568 is identical to S. 1543, which was unanimously passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee and the full Senate in the 99th Congress. (1) |