Advanced Search | Search IPO's Federal Circuit Summaries™

 IPO Legislative Action Center

IPO Legislative Priorities

Learn about IPO priorities below:


Spotlight

Image

On March 10, 2009, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on S.515, the Patent Reform Act of 2009.  IPO Executive Director Herb Wamsley testified at this hearing.  See the Patent Reform  page for additional information and a link to this testimony.

In the 111th Congress, for the first time in recent history,  IP issues will be addressed at the full committee level in both the House and the Senate. For a list of IP bills introduced thus far, see the link below or visit the IPO House and Senate bills pages.

IP-Related Bills Introduced in the 111th Congress

Advocating on Behalf of IP Owners

IPO advocates effective protection for patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets, and also urges laws that provide reasonable certainty to avoid undue litigation. IPO positions are communicated to Congress, the U.S. Copyright Office, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the U.S. Trade Representative and other agencies.

Agenda for 111th Congress

IPO will continue to focus on patent reform legislation during the 111th Congress among other issues.  IPO members file approximately 30 percent of the patent applications that are filed at the USPTO by U.S. nationals. IPO will continue to support reforms that enhance the quality of patents granted, reduce the uncertainty and increasing costs of litigation and change the U.S. patent system to a first-inventor-to-file system. Other priorities will include: 1) Ending PTO fee diversion and 2) Continuing to address and fund anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy tools and resources.

Tools for Learning More

As an IPO Member, you have access to the following tools that can help learn more about issues relevant to you:

IP Issues Archives

If you have questions about IPO's legislative program, please contact the IPO office at 202/507-4500 or email Dana Colarulli at dana@ipo.org.