The Honorable Lamar Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intel- The Honorable Howard L. Berman, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Courts, the The Honorable Lamar Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intel- The Honorable Howard L. Berman, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Courts, the Mr. J. Jeffrey Hawley, Legal Division Vice President and Director, Patent Oral Testimony Prepared Statement Mr. William L. LaFuze, Partner, Vinson & Elkins, LLP, and Chair, Section of Intellectual Property Law, American Bar Association, on behalf of the American Bar Association and the ABA Section of Intellectual Property The Honorable Jon W. Dudas, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property, and Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Prepared Statement of the Honorable Bob Goodlatte, a Representative in 4 Prepared Statement of the Honorable Howard L. Berman, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, and Ranking Member, Sub- committee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property Letter to the Honorable Lamar Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, from William L. LaFuze, Partner, Vinson & Elkins, LLP, and Chair, Section of Intellectual Property Law, American Bar Association, on behalf of the American Bar Association and the ABA Section of Intellectual Property Law Response to questions submitted by the Honorable Darrell Issa, a Representa- tive in Congress from the State of California, to J. Jeffrey Hawley, Legal Division Vice President and Director, Patent Legal Staff, Eastman Kodak Company, on behalf of Intellectual Property Owners Association (IPO) Response to questions submitted by the Honorable Darrell Issa, a Representa- tive in Congress from the State of California, to Richard J. Lutton, Jr., Chief Patent Counsel, Apple, on behalf of the Business Software Alliance Response to questions submitted by the Honorable Darrell Issa, a Representa- tive in Congress from the State of California, to Jeffrey P. Kushan, Esq., Sidley Austin Brown and Wood, LLP, on behalf of Genetech Response to questions submitted by the Honorable Darrell Issa, a Representa- tive in Congress from the State of California, to William L. LaFuze, Part- ner, Vinson & Elkins, LLP, and Chair, Section of Intellectual Property Law, American Bar Association, on behalf of the American Bar Association Memorandum to the Honorable Lamar Smith, a Representative in Congress from the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property and the Honorable Howard Berman, a Representative in Congress from the State of California, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property from Darin E. Bartholomew, Senior Attorney, Patent Department, John Deere & Company Prepared Statement from Jack Haken, Vice President, Intellectual Property Letter from Ryan M. Fountain, Attorney at Law, Mishawaka, Indiana to Page 199 200 203 COMMITTEE PRINT REGARDING Part I WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 2005 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, THE INTERNET, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 4:38 p.m., in Room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Lamar Smith (Chair of the Subcommittee) presiding. Mr. SMITH. The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will come to order. We appreciate all the interest demonstrated by all the folks today. This is an important hearing. It is the first of several hearings on the subject, but I'm glad for everyone's interest. Also, let me say that there is a concurrent Members-only briefing on Iraq that is being given by the Secretary of Defense, and I know we've lost several Members to that activity. Nevertheless, it doesn't diminish from what is said nor the importance of the meeting itself. I'll recognize myself for an opening statement and then recognize the Ranking Member, and then we'll get to our witnesses as soon thereafter as possible. This hearing is the first of two that we will conduct this month on patent reform. More specifically, today the Subcommittee will explore the merits of a committee print that incorporates a number of changes to improve the quality of patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The print also speaks to certain patent practices that disrupt the operations of manufacturers and other businesses. The Subcommittee will hold its second hearing on the print next week and a third hearing on a bill that I will introduce shortly after that. While the Subcommittee has documented a steady increase in application pendency and backlogs at the PTO in recent years, the consensus view among agency officials and the inventor community is that efforts to address these problems should not take precedent over improving patent quality. Patents of questionable scope or validity waste valuable resources by inviting third party challenges and ultimately discourage private sector investment. (1) |