As the 110th readies itself for the show, I’m sure patent reform is the top priority for all incoming Members. Fee diversion, post-grant review, and first to file, oh my! Boy, I sure hope they’re able to put their minds at rest over the holidays…
In all seriousness, we have seen a few hints about the direction in which patent reform will move once the 110th Congress signs its name to the growing log of the issue. Senator Leahy, the incoming chair of the Judiciary Committee, recently gave indications that the patent reform agenda will include efforts “to increase access to essential medicines throughout the world.”
According to Leahy:
“We can help struggling families in developing nations, while improving US relations with large segments of the world’s population…The current global health crisis is one of the great callings of our time. Whether it is the Avian Flu, AIDS, SARS, West Nile Virus, or the approaching menace of multi-drug resistant bacteria, we need to recognize that the health of those half-way around the world now influences our security and affects our lives here in the United States….I want the work of the Judiciary Committee to be a catalyst to help make life-saving medicines more readily available around the world.”
He leaves no doubt that he views patent reform as part of his agenda on “access to essential medicines,” stating that he intends “to redouble efforts to re-examine our patent laws in the hope that by making thoughtful and practical changes we can greatly increase access to essential medicines throughout the world.”
Certainly, that’s a whole new direction for patent reform in the United States. It sounds a lot like the debates that occurred in India as that country struggled to become fully TRIPs-compliant.
Read the full article on Leahy’s comments at Intellectual Property Watch.
