LIBRARY OF CONGRESS COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., Wisconsin, Chairman HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois HOWARD COBLE, North Carolina LAMAR SMITH, Texas ELTON GALLEGLY, California DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California J. RANDY FORBES, Virginia JOHN CONYERS, JR., Michigan MELVIN L. WATT, North Carolina ZOE LOFGREN, California SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas MAXINE WATERS, California MARTIN T. MEEHAN, Massachusetts ANTHONY D. WEINER, New York DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Florida PHILIP G. KIKO, General Counsel-Chief of Staff SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, THE INTERNET, AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY The Honorable Lamar Smith, a Representative in Cor of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, th The Honorable Howard L. Berman, a Representative Mr. Gary L. Griswold, President and Chief Intellectu Prepared Statement of the Honorable Howard L. Bern Prepared Statement of the Honorable John Conyers, in Congress from the State of Michigan Prepared Statement of the Honorable Zoe Lofgren, a R gress from the State of California Memorandum of the Honorable Zoe Lofgren, a Repre Letter from Michael K. Kirk, Executive Director, Amer erty Law Association (AIPLA), in response to questi President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, erties Company, submitted by the Honorable Zoe Lof in Congress from the State of California Prepared Statement of the Computer & Communicati (III) PATENT ACT OF 2005 THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2005 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON COURTS, THE INTERNET, The Subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:20 a.m., in Room 2141, Rayburn House Office Building, the Honorable Lamar Smith (Chair of the Subcommittee) presiding. Mr. SMITH. Good morning. The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property will come to order. Let me say that I should have had more faith in our witnesses and in the audience. I had no idea you all would be here and be so prompt. When the building was closed this morning, I thought, "Well, we'll be lucky to start at 10:00;" then I backed it up to 9:30. Then I get a call that three of our witnesses have already showed up at 9:00, so I realized that we're going forward pretty much on time as expected. So thank you for your promptness, for your interest, and for your diligence in coming even though there was a delay, as you all know, getting into the building this morning. I'm going to recognize myself for an opening statement, then the Ranking Member, and then we'll proceed. Today marks our third hearing on patent reform in the 109th Congress. The first two focused on the contents of a Committee Print. I want to take a moment to commend the Members of this Subcommittee, all of the witnesses, and other interested parties who have contributed so much to this project over the past 6 months. To arrive at this point is no small accomplishment, given the scope of the bill and its eventual application to so many lives and jobs. The bill in its current form is, without question, the most comprehensive change to U.S. patent law since Congress passed the 1952 Patent Act. This Subcommittee has undertaken such responsibility because the changes are necessary to bolster the U.S. economy and improve the quality of living for all Americans. The bill will eliminate legal gamesmanship from the current system that rewards lawsuit abuses over creativity. It will enhance the quality of patents and increase public confidence in their legal integrity. This will help individuals and companies to obtain seed money for research, commercialize their inventions, grow their businesses, create new jobs, and offer the American public a dazzling array of products and services that make our country the envy of the world. (1) |