House Sets Debate on Patent Reform Act

According to the Intellectual Property Owners Association, H.R. 1908, "The Patent Reform Act of 2007," is scheduled to come up for a two-hour House debate at 10:00 on Friday that will be broadcast on the CSPAN network. House Report 110-314 explaining the content the proposed legislation is now available, and, on Thursday, the Bush Administration sent a "Statement of Administration Policy" to the House where

. . . the Administration continues to oppose H.R. 1908’s limits on the discretion of a court in determining damages adequate to compensate for an infringement. Making this change to a reasonably well-functioning patent legal system is unwarranted and risks reducing the rewards from innovation -- a result that would undercut the other useful reforms in this bill. The Administration therefore opposes H.R. 1908 unless it is appropriately revised to address this concern. The Administration will work with Congress to address these concerns as the legislative process continues.

See the latest IPO comparison chart of the House and Senate bills.