Senate Must Support Strong Patent Rights, Not Erode Them
As we at CFIF often highlight, strong intellectual property (IP) rights - including patent rights - constitute a core element of "American Exceptionalism" and explain how we became the most inventive, prosperous, technologically advanced nation in human history. Our Founding Fathers considered IP so important that they explicitly protected it in the text of Article I of the United States Constitution.
Strong patent rights also explain how the U.S. accounts for an incredible two-thirds of all new lifesaving drugs introduced worldwide.
Elected officials must therefore work to protect strong IP and patent rights, not undermine them. Unfortunately, several anti-patent bills currently before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee this week threaten to do exactly…[more]
WASHINGTON, DC – Two bipartisan bills to help restore legal certainty and fairness for America’s innovators were reintroduced today in Congress: the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) and Promoting and Respecting Economically Vital American Innovation Leadership (PREVAIL) Act. The Center for Individual Freedom (CFIF) reiterates its strong support for both bills and urges their swift passage.
“China and other foreign competitors are working to surpass the United States as the world’s innovation leader,” said CFIF President Jeffrey Mazzella. “The stakes are extremely high. Yet, legal uncertainty on patent eligibility and a tipping of the scales at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) against patent holders have weakened America’s patent system.
“It’s time to reassert America’s leadership to unleash U.S. innovation. Congress should act to pass PERA and the PREVAIL Act without delay,” said Mazzella.
CFIF has long supported PERA and the PREVAIL Act, along with other legislation to strengthen patent rights. In November, CFIF released a web video urging Congress to pass PERA and the PREVAIL Act. The video features legal and policy experts who have appeared on CFIF’s IP Protection Matters podcast explaining how the legislation will help clarify patent eligibility and provide balance to PTAB proceedings.
The legal and policy experts appearing in the web video include: The Honorable Paul R. Michel, former Chief Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit; Alden Abbott, Senior Research Fellow at Mercatus Center and former General Counsel at the Federal Trade Commission; Chris Israel, Executive Director of Alliance of U.S. Startups and Inventors for Jobs; James Edwards, Founder and Executive Director of Conservatives for Property Rights; and Karen Kerrigan, President & CEO of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council.
PERA is sponsored in the U.S. Senate by Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE), and Representatives Kevin Kiley (R-CA) and Scott Peters (D-CA) in the U.S. House. The PREVAIL Act is sponsored by Senators Coons and Tillis, and Representatives Deborah Ross (D-NC) and Nathan Moran (R-TX).
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