US Chamber backs House patent reform bill

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce came out in support of the bipartisan patent reform bill on Tuesday as opposition to one of the bill's key provisions grows in the House.

The Chamber expressed public support for the America Invents Act for the first time in a letter to the House, arguing the bill would help drive economic growth and create jobs.

The legislation strongly resembles a bill that overwhelmingly passed the Senate earlier this year and has the administration's support.

“If we’re going to turn this economic recovery into a jobs recovery, it’s going to start with increasing our country’s competitiveness,” said Bruce Josten, executive vice president for government affairs at the Chamber.

“This legislation is an important first step toward doing just that, as it will help drive America’s economic growth, create jobs, and increase our competitiveness.”

The business group also backed the controversial measure that would let the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office set and keep the fees it collects. Supporters argue the additional resources are sorely needed to address the current backlog of more than 1 million patent applications.

"The fees that PTO collects to review and approve patent application are supposed to be dedicated to PTO operation," Josten said. 

"However, fee diversion by Congress has hampered PTO’s efforts to hire and retain a sufficient number of qualified examiners and implement technological improvements necessary to ensure expeditious issuance of high quality patents."

The leadership of the House Appropriations and Budgets Committees along with members from both parties argue the change would make the patent office essentially autonomous and free from congressional oversight.

The issue has emerged as a late stumbling block for a bill that was first introduced in 2005 and was expected to reach the president's desk this summer. If the fee provision is stripped from the bill it could cause K Street's support to collapse.

The latest lawmakers to voice opposition to the bill include House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.) and former chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). Some members oppose the change from a first-to-invent to a first-to-file patent system and other provisions.

A coalition of supporters including tech and pharmaceutical firms wrote to Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Monday urging them to protect the provision.

Separately, lawmakers Reps. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.) are circulating a "Dear Colleague" letter to House Judiciary Chairman and author Lamar Smith (R-Texas) urging support for the legislation.

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