Posts Tagged: "Congress"

This Week in Washington IP: Semiconductor Supply Chains, Pharmaceutical Pricing, and the Impact of AI on Innovation

This week in Washington IP news, both houses of Congress are busy with hearings that touch on subjects relevant to IP. Both the Senate and House will be holding hearings on two hot-button issues: semiconductor supply chains and prescription drug pricing. Elsewhere, the USPTO is holding an AI inventorship listening session on the West Coast.

House IP Subcommittee Suggests Vidal is Overstepping with Advance PTAB Proposals

Today’s hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet on Oversight of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) demonstrated some confusion on the part of Congress about the intent of USPTO Director Kathi Vidal’s recent Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on changes to Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) processes, and suggested the Subcommittee members believe she may be exceeding her authority.

This Week in Washington IP: Celebrating World IP Day, House Hearing on Oversight of USPTO, and the Future of AI

This week in Washington IP news, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and others celebrate World Intellectual Property Day with multiple events. A House subcommittee holds a hearing overseeing recent developments at the USPTO. The Senate is also in session as it discusses the two new finalized rules from the Small Business Administration on expanding capital access to small businesses.

Pro-Patent Panel Tells Senate IP Subcommittee It’s Time for a Better IP Strategy

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held a hearing today featuring a panel of patent-savvy witnesses to underscore the crucial role intellectual property plays in the U.S. economy and to define the biggest threats to IP rights, both foreign and domestic. The conclusion of most panelists as to what one step is most important in reestablishing the United States as an IP powerhouse was that we need to clean up our own IP system at home in order to even begin addressing threats from foreign competitors like China.

IP VIPs Slam U.S. Government’s Bid to Extend Section 1498(a) to Private Patent Infringement

The Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP) on Monday held a webinar featuring some big names in the IP world to clear up what the organization characterizes as misguided views on the use of Title 28 of the U.S. Code, Section 1498(a). The event was prompted in part by a recent U.S. government statement of interest filed in a patent infringement suit against Moderna, Inc.’s COVID-19 vaccine. That statement argued that Moderna should be released from infringement liability under the terms of a government contract that “authorize[d] and consent[ed] to all use and manufacture” of any U.S. patented invention.