Posts Tagged: "Senator Chris Coons"

Members of Congress Blast Biden on March-In Proposal and Pandemic Accord

A bipartisan group of 28 members of congress, including Senate IP Subcommittee Chair Chris Coons (D-DE), Ranking Member Thom Tillis (R-NC) and House IP Subcommittee Chair Darrell Issa (R-CA), sent a letter yesterday to President Biden urging the administration to reconsider its December proposal to allow agencies to consider pricing in deciding whether and when to “march in” on patent rights. Also yesterday, four bipartisan senators wrote to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in opposition to the negotiating text of the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, warning that it “would undercut—if not destroy—the very aspects of our innovation ecosystem that just recently produced such positive results.”

Witnesses Clash Over Potential Pros and Cons of PERA in Senate IP Subcommittee Hearing

The Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property today held a hearing featuring eight witnesses who testified about the need to restore certainty to U.S. patent eligibility law. Most, but not all, agreed such a need exists and urged quick passage of the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act of 2023 (PERA). Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced PERA in June of last year. The bill would eliminate all judicially-created exceptions to U.S. patent eligibility law.

Tillis and Coons Introduce Bill to Study Bayh-Dole Reporting Processes

Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE) have introduced a bill to study the inefficiencies in the reporting system required under the Bayh-Dole Act, with an eye toward streamlining processes. Titled the “Improving Efficiency to Increase Competition Act of 2023,” the bill would direct the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report to Congress on the impact of the various reporting requirements implemented by different agencies under Bayh-Dole for intellectual property developed by federal grantees.

Vidal Tells Senate IP Subcommittee There Will Be Movement on ANPRM Proposals Soon

The Senate Subcommittee on Intellectual Property today held a hearing on Oversight of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), with USPTO Director Kathi Vidal as the sole witness. Only a handful of senators questioned Vidal, and only one significantly challenged her in questioning. The hearing differed considerably from the House IP Subcommittee’s Oversight Hearing in April, where Vidal was repeatedly taken to task on the Office’s then-recently issued Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM).

Senate IP Subcommittee Mulls Federal Right of Publicity at AI and Copyright Hearing

On July 12, the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Intellectual Property held its second hearing in two months on the intersection of artificial intelligence (AI) developments and intellectual property rights. This most recent hearing focused on potential violations of copyright law by generative AI platforms, the impact of those platforms on human creators, and ways in which AI companies can implement technological solutions to protect copyright owners and consumers alike.