FYI: [Fwd: PUBPAT News: U.S. Congress Invites PUBPAT Executive to Testify About Patent Reform]

[Henk Elegeert]

REPLY TO: D66 at nic.surfnet.nl

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: PUBPAT News: U.S. Congress Invites PUBPAT Executive
to Testify About Patent Reform
Resent-Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2005 18:36:24 -0700 (PDT)
Resent-From: news at pubpat.org
Date: Tue, 07 Jun 2005 21:37:48 -0400
From: Public Patent Foundation <info at pubpat.org>
To: PUBPAT News List <news at pubpat.org>
References: <42163443.5040302 at pubpat.org>
<42486C34.6060104 at pubpat.org>

U.S. CONGRESS INVITES PUBPAT EXECUTIVE TO TESTIFY ABOUT
PATENT REFORM

NEW YORK -- The Public Patent Foundation ("PUBPAT")
announced today that Executive Director, Dan Ravicher, has
been invited by the U.S. House of Representatives to testify
at this week's hearing on a proposed bill to reform the
patent system.  Ravicher will make a presentation and then
answer questions from Representatives on the Subcommittee on
Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, including
Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Ranking Member Howard Berman
(D-CA).

"The interests of the non-patent holding public are almost
always absent from any meaningful participation in decision
making about the patent system, despite the fact that they
bear the brunt of its burdens," Ravicher stated in written
testimony submitted prior to the hearing.
"Patent policy should be made with consideration of all of
the public's interests, not just the specific interests of
the PTO, patent holders, patent practitioners, and large
commercial actors."

Patent reform has been a topic of extensive discussion in
Washington recently, with the House and Senate having
several hearings on the subject.  A widely circulated
proposed patent reform bill includes provisions reigning in
undeserved injunctions, limiting the ability of patent
applicants to file unlimited numbers of continuation
applications, and creating a post-grant opposition procedure
allowing the public to more efficiently verify the validity
of issued patents.
In his written testimony, Ravicher commented on each of
these provisions and also raised several other areas in need
of reform not addressed in the proposed bill.

More information about PUBPAT's testimony to Congress on
patent reform, including a complete copy of Ravicher's
written statement, can be found at
http://www.pubpat.org/Educating_and_Advocating.htm.

Contact:

Jill Ratkevic, Bite Communications: (415) 365-0482;
Jill.Ratkevic at bitepr.com.

About PUBPAT:

The Public Patent Foundation ("PUBPAT") is a not-for-profit
legal services organization working to protect the public
from the harms caused by the patent system, particularly the
harms caused by wrongly issued patents and unsound patent
policy.  PUBPAT provides the general public and those
specific persons or businesses otherwise deprived of
access to the system governing patents, with representation,
advocacy, and education.

To be kept informed of PUBPAT News, subscribe to the PUBPAT
News List by sending an email with "subscribe" in the
subject line to news-request at pubpat.org.

###

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