Labor unions oppose patent reform

Although it is tough to determine "Democrat" and "Republican" positions on patent reform, note that labor unions are against the present reform bills:

Opponents of legislation that would overhaul the U.S. patent system have enlisted new allies who may cause majority Democrats in Congress to rethink their support of the proposals.

Since late July, three labor unions -- the AFL-CIO, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and the United Steelworkers -- have sent letters to lawmakers saying they oppose two current patent reform bills. Patent reform opponents say they hope their alliance with organized labor, which has a long history of supporting Democrats, will stall the legislation.

[from Grant Gross, IDG News Service]


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See also
http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/2007/06/chicago-tribune-commentary-blasts-s1145.html

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An August 27 post on PatentHawk discusses a Wall Street Journal article (by Greg Hitt) echoing the above comments on the impact of labor union involvement in the patent reform area.