The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to meet again today to continue its consideration of S.515, The Patent Reform Act of 2009. Several amendments to the Act have been proposed and will be considered, including changes to the controversial damages provision that, to date, presents the biggest roadblock to enactment.

One proposed amendment [.pdf] includes changes to both the damages provision and the interlocutory appeals section, the current version of which stands to create a whole new patent backlog. Interestingly, the amendment also incorporates Representative Issa’s patent expert judge bill into the Patent Reform Act of 2009. Representative Issa has introduced his bill in several sessions now and it has generally been well-received. It is noteworthy, though, that Chief Judge Michel, speaking at the recent University of Akron Sughrue Symposium, noted that the bill is not needed to accomplish the stated purpose.

Lest you think that no sense of practicality remains in the reform debate, consider this proposed amendment [.pdf] which would amend the statute to allow marking of patented articles by reference to a website. I’ve wondered about this issue for years and would guess that a clear indication that virtual marking is acceptable would offer everyone in the debate a practical solution to an administrative and technical headache – maintaining patent marking information and updating products and/or literature.