After years of being stalled in Congress, major patent reform legislation passed the Senate today. Senator Coons was proud to cosponsor the America Invents Act of 2011, which secured a strong, bipartisan 95-5 vote for passage.
As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Chris is committed to strengthening our intellectual property laws and helping American inventors and entrepreneurs transform their ideas into products. America has always been the world’s idea factory, and our new products and technologies have transformed the world several times over. The America Invents Act is an important step forward in this area.
“The America Invents Act,” Chris said after passage, “will create jobs in Delaware and throughout the United States by removing some of the administrative roadblocks that currently prevent inventors from becoming successful entrepreneurs. This bill will improve the speed, quality and reliability of the Patent and Trademark Office and it will ensure that America retains its place in the world as the leader of invention and innovative thinking.”
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) currently has a backlog of patent applications, and the average time from submission to approval is almost three years. This bill allows the PTO to set its own fees and ends the practice of patent application fees paid to the PTO being reallocated to other agencies. As a result, the PTO can hire more reviewers, streamline operations, and approve more patents in less time.
Chris spoke on the Senate floor this afternoon before the vote to press his colleagues to support the bill. In his remarks, he noted that, essentially, this is a job-creating bill. He hailed the bipartisan nature of the bill and also stated his hope that it will help ensure America’s continued global leadership in innovation.