Law360: Restoring America Invents Act Should Not Do The Opposite by Russell Slifer and Dana Colarulli
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. , introduced a bill last September that would make it harder for America’s most brilliant scientists and inventors to create new world-changing, life-saving products.
That isn’t lawmakers’ intention, of course. The authors of the Restoring America Invents Act say their bill will “address problems for small businesses and ordinary Americans caused by poor-quality patents.” They also contend it will lower the cost of prescription drugs.
Those are worthy objectives. And the bill is co-sponsored by Leahy, who championed the original America Invents Act back in 2011, which brought much-needed updates to our patent system. We both strongly supported that bill while serving at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office during the Obama administration.
But we worry this new effort, far from restoring that original law, would actually undermine it and threaten America’s status as the world’s most innovative nation.