[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 49 (Monday, March 23, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E743-E744]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               AUTHORIZING PILOT PROGRAM FOR PATENT CASES

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON-LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 17, 2009

  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of 
H.R. 629, the ``Patent Judges Pilot Program in Certain District 
Courts.'' I urge my colleagues to support this bill. This bill will 
provide more expertise in skill in a difficult area of law: patent law. 
Americans hold the patents and patent law as important, integral to our 
very lives. Patents reward ingenuity and creativity.
  As the Blackberry litigation demonstrated, deficiencies in the 
current system have the ability to paralyze America. Indeed, the New 
York Times noted that ``[something] has gone very wrong with the United 
States patent system.'' The Financial Times opined that ``[i]t is time 
to restore the balance of power in U.S. patent law.'' Indeed, there has 
been a cry for change in the patent system and increased expertise for 
many years now.
  The Constitution mandates that we ``promote the progress of science 
and the useful arts . . . by securing for limited times to . . . 
inventors the exclusive right to their . . . discoveries.'' In order to 
fulfill the Constitution's mandate, we, as Members of Congress, must 
examine the system periodically to determine whether there may be flaws 
in the system that may hamper innovation, including the problems 
described as decreased patent quality, prevalence of subjective 
elements in patent practice, patent abuse, and lack of qualified 
persons to study patent law.
  H.R. 628 attempts to correct some of these problems.
  H.R. 628 creates a pilot program to increase the expertise of U.S. 
District Court judges who wish to hear cases that involve issues 
related to patents or plant variety protection. The bill provides for 
the designation of not less than 6 United States district courts in at 
least 3 different circuits to take part in the pilot program. In the 
designated courts, judges who elect to hear patent or plant variety 
protection cases will be designated to do so by the chief judge. Cases 
will be assigned randomly, but undesignated judges may decline to 
accept patent and plant variety protection cases. The bill authorizes 
the expenditure of not less than $5 million per year for up to 10 years 
to pay for the educational and professional development of designated 
judges, and for compensation for law clerks with technical expertise 
related to patent and plant variety protection cases to be appointed by 
the designated courts.
  The high cost of patent litigation is widely publicized. It is not 
unusual for a patent suit to cost each party upwards of $10 million. 
Appeals from United States district courts to the Federal Circuit are 
frequent, in part because of the perception within the patent community 
that most district court judges are not sufficiently prepared to 
adjudicate complex, technical patent cases. In 2008, 45 percent of the 
patent cases that were appealed to the Federal Circuit were reversed in 
whole or in part or vacated and remanded. This bill seeks to promote 
consistency among United States district courts by increasing the 
expertise of district court judges, thus providing for more certainty 
in intellectual property protection.
  Taken together, these improvements would bring the American patent 
system up to speed for the twenty-first century. Instead of remaining a 
hindrance to innovation and economic growth, the patent system should 
work for inventors, ensuring America's patent system remains the best 
in the world and prevents risks to innovation.
  I am encouraged by this bill, and I am hopeful that minorities and 
women take advantage of this pilot program. The patent judges pilot 
program and pilot program for law clerks provides for the educational 
and professional development of the designated district judges in 
matters relating to patent and plant variety protection, and for 
compensating law clerks with expertise in technical matters arising in 
patent and plant variety protection cases. This is yet another step 
that America is taking to ensure that its patent system is the best in 
the world. I urge my colleagues to support this bill.

[[Page E744]]



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