Lower House Passes Legislation on Patent Litigation Training Program for District Court Judges

By a vote of 409-7, the House of Representatives has passed a legislation creating a pilot program to enhance the expertise of district court judges hearing patent cases.

House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, a ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee,  introduced the House and Senate companion bills as H.R. 628 and S. 299, entitled “To establish a pilot program in certain United States district courts to encourage enhancement of expertise in patent cases among district judges.”

The legislation will establish a pilot project in at least five district courts where judges will have the choice of opting-in to the new program to hear patent cases.  Each of the test courts will be assigned a clerk with expertise in patent law or with the technical issues arising in patent cases.  The bills will also allocate funding to provide educational opportunities for judges who opt-in to the program.

Specifically, the bill allocates $5 million a year to implement the program.  At least six district courts, chosen from the 15 that saw the most patent and plant variety protection cases in the previous year, would have to join the pilot program.

The core intent of the pilot program is to steer patent cases to judges that have the desire and aptitude to hear patent cases, while preserving the principle of random assignment to help avoid forum shopping.  The pilot project will last no longer than 10 years, and studies will occur to determine the pilot project’s success.

“This legislation will raise the level of expertise in patent litigation, improve the reliability of patents and allow businesses to spend more time inventing and less time litigating,” Rep. Schiff said.  “This will reduce the cost to consumers of everything from promising new medicines to the latest cell phones.”

This legislation will ensure that our nation’s judges are equipped to handle patent cases by providing them with training in this highly technical area of law,” Senator Specter said.  “This, in turn, will encourage innovation by addressing the rising burden that patent litigation imposes on our inventors and economy.  The patent system is complex; the changes that we make to improve it will invariably be multifaceted.  I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Senate on this important legislation.”

The Patent Pilot bill was originally introduced in 2006.  It was passed by the House of Representatives in both the 109th and 110th Congresses but has not been approved in the Senate.

Also See:

USPTO to Implement Inventor’s Oath or Declaration Provisions of the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Seeks Public Input on Proposed Fees

USPTO to Test New Post Final Rejection Option

USPTO Expands Patent Law School Clinic Certification Pilot Program

USPTO Launches Small Business Innovation Research Pilot Program