From the Alliance


Feb. 11, 2014

Innovation Alliance Letter to Senate Judiciary Leadership Encouraging Caution towards New Patent Legislation

The Honorable Patrick Leahy
The Honorable Charles Grassley
United States Senate
Judiciary Committee
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Grassley:

We represent a large and diverse cross-section of America’s innovation economy practicing in a wide variety of industries—small businesses, entrepreneurial startups, trade associations, professional organizations, labor unions, universities, and large, well-established businesses—with employees and locations throughout the country. We are encouraged by your willingness and that of the Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to meet and weigh the perspectives of many of us. We all have concerns about proposed legislation aimed at changing U.S. patent laws, and agree that the Senate should exercise great caution before moving any legislation that could weaken the constitutional protections afforded to patent holders or make patent rights less valuable or more difficult to enforce.

The U.S. patent system is a driving engine of our economy and a vital contributor to the nation’s economic creativity and ingenuity. These rights have kept American inventors competitive internationally since the founding of our country, and they create countless jobs and significant prosperity every year. Weakening the protections of the patent system would surely result in the loss of America’s creative, technological, and economic edge.

The America Invents Act was fully implemented less than a year ago, and its effect on our patent system has yet to be fully understood or appreciated. Congress should therefore be cautious before making additional changes to our patent laws. Any changes that are made should not undermine U.S. patents, their robust enforcement, or the existing economic incentives for companies of all sizes to invest in new jobs, research, and development. We encourage you to focus in future hearings on the many different aspects of the legislation and the broad spectrum of stakeholders who would be affected by it.

Thank you for your consideration of our views.

Sincerely,

AccessClosure Inc.
ActivaTek
ADM Tronics
Allergan, Inc.
Allison Transmission, Inc.
American Council on Education
Andover Healthcare Inc.
Apertomed, LLC
Architecture Technology Corp. (ATC)
Articulinx
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Association of University Technology Managers
Audax Medical
Autonomic Technologies, Inc.
Beam Technologies
Beaver-Visitec International, Inc.
Bi-Level Technologies
Biocom
Biomet
Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO)
BrainScope Company, Inc.
Brash Insight Corp.
Cabochon, Inc.
California Healthcare Institute (CHI)
CardioMEMS, Inc.
Cardiovascular Systems, Inc.
Cayenne Medical
Cerephex Corporation
Cianna Medical, Inc.
CitareTx Investment Partners
CleanTECH San Diego
Cleveland Medical Devices Inc.
Cognionics, Inc.
CONNECT
Cotera, Inc.
Covalent Medical Inc.
Cummins Allison Corporation
Cyberonics, Inc.
Cygnus Broadband
Direct Flow Medical, Inc.
Dolby Laboratories, Inc.
DR Systems, Inc.
Dynatronics Corporation
eCardio
Education Systems
ElitechGroup
EndoChoice, Inc.
EnteroMedics Inc.
Entrepreneurs for Growth
Entropic Communications, Inc.
Exagen Diagnostics
ExploraMed
ExploraMed Development, LLC
ExploraMed IV, LLC
ExploraMed NC6, Inc.
Fallbrook Technologies Inc.
Flocel Inc.
ForSight Labs, LLC
ForSight VISION4, Inc.
ForSight VISION5, Inc.
General Nanotechnology LLC
Great Lakes NeuroTechnologies Inc.
Healthcare Innovation Exchange
HeartWare
HeyWire, Inc.
Holaira, Inc.
IP Advocate
Isomark, LLC
Innovation Alliance (IA)
Inogen Inc.
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.-USA (IEEE-USA)
InterDigital, Inc.
ItsOn, Inc.
Karbonique, Inc.
KBS Automist, LLC
Kentucky Life Sciences Council
Lauder Partners LLC
Licensing Executives Society (U.S.A. and Canada), Inc.
LifeScience Alley
Lightstone Ventures
Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA)
Megadyne
MGC Diagnostics
MH Systems, Inc.
Microcube
Miramar Labs, Inc., Sunnyvale, CA
Morgenthaler Ventures
National Association of Patent Practitioners
National Small Business Association (NSBA)
Neotract, Inc.
NeuroPace
NeuroWave Systems Inc.
NEXIS Vision Inc.
NinePoint Medical Inc.
Nocimed
NuVasive, Inc.
NxThera
OL2, Inc. (Onlive)
OmniGuide Inc.
Orbital Research Inc.
Patent Office Professional Association
Percutaneous Systems, Inc.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA)
Pivot Medical
Preceptis Medical, Inc.
PTM Manufacturing, LLC
Q Restaurant Group
QUALCOMM, Inc.
Reaction Biology Corporation
Rearden Companies
ResMed, Inc.
Revent Medical, Inc.
Royal Oak Medical Devices, LLC
Salix Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
SetPoint Medical, Inc.
SI-Bone, Inc.
Sippl Investments, LLC
Sleepy, Inc.
Smiths Medical
Software Partners LLC
Solace Therapeutics
Spectranetics Corporation
Spinal Kinetics, LLC
SpinalMotion
Spine Align Medical Inc.
Spineology Inc.
SuperCheapPromos
Swan Valley Medical, Incorporated
Teleflex Incorporated
Tessera Technologies Inc.
Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute
Texas Life-Sciences Collaboration Center
The Foundry, LLC
Thermocure, Inc.
Therox
Transcend Medical, Inc.
TriVascular Technologies, Inc.
Twelve, Inc.
Unbenchable.com
United States Business and Industry Council
University of South Carolina
Vector Surgical
Vibrynt, Inc.
Volcano Corporation
Wenzel Spine, Inc.

cc: Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee