Discussion of patent reform on April 22, 2005

On April 22, 2005, there will be a discussion of patent reform at the WSPLA/OPLA joint meeting in Stevenson, WA.

Some comments on the House bill for patent reform:

Erik Stasik:

The creation of a new post issue opposition is also questionable. It is not clear to me that denying inventors review in the Federal courts is something that can or should be done.

My feeling is that it is better to create courts of specialists, rather than special courts.

As a practical matter having been involved in many, many oppositions in Europe it is not the panacea that Americans believe it is. Yes, inter partes opposition is better than US style re-examination, but it is far from a perfect solution. In may instances, opposition is a poor strategy choice.


See also:
http://patentlaw.typepad.com/patent/2005/04/patent_reform_h.html