Commerce Secretary Gutierrez Letter to Senate Calls for Patent Applicant Quality Submissions Provision in Patent Modernization Legislation

On April 3, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate to share the Administration’s thoughts on key aspects of the Patent Reform Act (S. 1145), including the Applicant Quality Submissions (AQS) provision, which he cites as “the strongest step toward improved patent quality.”

The Administration strongly supports the AQS provision in the bill in its current form, and believes enacting AQS will reduce the number of poor quality and imprecise applications, thus dramatically reducing patent pendency and backlog, as well as the likelihood of excessive litigation.

In addition to AQS, the letter addresses numerous elements of the bill including inequitable conduct reform, damages, post-grant review and others.

To access the letter in its entirety, go to: http://www.ogc.doc.gov/ogc/legreg/letters/110/S1145Apr0308.pdf To access the Administration’s views letter from February 4, 2008, go to: http://www.ogc.doc.gov/ogc/legreg/letters/110/S1145020408.pdf