Washington, D.C. - The Innovation Alliance today welcomed a letter by more than170 California organizations and employers outlining major concerns with The Patent Reform Act (S. 1145). The letter was sent to California’s two Senators, Dianne Feinstein (D) and Barbara Boxer (D).

The letter stated:

“…California’s high-tech industries lead the world in innovation across numerous sectors – biotechnology, electronics, medical technology, telecommunications, and others. The cutting edge research they do is extremely risky and expensive, and strong patent protections form the basis upon which they are able to attract the investment necessary to commercialize a new product. This is especially the case for the hundreds of smaller, venture capital-backed firms in the state, many spun out of California’s world-class research universities and private research institutes.

We support balanced and reasonable efforts to improve U.S. patent law… However, we maintain that the harm to the patent system and innovation that would result from enactment of certain provisions in S. 1145 outweighs any potential benefits of other provisions of the bill.

As reported out of [the Senate Judiciary] committee, S. 1145 would increase costs to obtain and maintain patents, undermine patent certainty, incentivize infringement, and weaken the enforceability of patent rights and intellectual property protections.”

The letter outlined specific issues with the legislation’s provisions on calculating damages for patent infringement and a administrative procedure to challenge and invalidate patents after they are issued, among other concerns.