Innovation Spurs Job Creation

The United States is the most inventive country in the world, and a transparent and streamlined patent system will only enhance the job creating ingenuity and entrepreneurship our country is known for.  Without an updated patent system that evolves with the economy, entrepreneurs have less incentive to create new technologies and hire new workers.

Next week, the United States Senate will begin consideration of legislation I cosponsored with Senator Patrick Leahy, the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, to update our patent laws and spur the innovation that is needed to create jobs.  The bipartisan bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously.  As Ranking Member of the committee, I’ll be helping to manage the Republican side during the debate before the full Senate.  

The Patent Reform Act would enhance operations of the patent and trademark office with administrative reforms and fee setting authority.  It would allow for early third party participation in the process to strengthen patent quality, increase transparency, and reduce abusive challenges.  The bill would also make improvements to the patent process to reduce litigation costs and promote more certainty so companies can invest in innovation and product development.

The bill also includes a provision I’ve been working on with Senator Max Baucus that would prevent any individual or firm from being able to receive a patent on a tax strategy.  In some instances these tax patents grant a patent holder exclusive rights to use certain tax loopholes and encourage tax avoidance.

Keep an eye on the debate next week by watching C-SPAN2.