MONDAY, JANUARY 21, 2008, 9:30 a.m.

SENTATE BILL LIKELY TO BE PUSHED IN FEBRUARY -- IPO believes Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) will attempt to pass a revised version of S. 1145 in the Senate in February.  Major amendments likely will not be available more than a few days in advance of Senate consideration.  It is unclear whether the Senate has the votes to pass a bill.  If the Senate does pass a bill, it likely will be sent to the House for swift passage by the House without amendments, eliminating the need for a Senate-House conference.

PATENT REFORM FATIGUE? -- Discussion of patent reform legislation in newsletters, emails, and on the internet by IPO members and others who are not paid lobbyists has been slower in recent months.  Interest is much less than last summer and fall, when the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S. 1145 in July and the House of Representatives passed H.R.1908 in September.  An IPO member suggests patent reform fatigue has set in, with people tiring of debating the complex bills and hoping radical changes will not be made because reforms already have been made by recent Supreme Court decisions.  To discuss patent reform issues, IPO members may contact Tom Valente (tvalente@ipo.org) or Dana Colarulli (dana@ipo.org) in the IPO office.

IPO’S IP LICENSING COMMITTEE AND AUTM DEVELOPED A ONE-DAY COURSE -- Kenneth Seddon, Intel Corp., Chair of the IP Licensing Committee, and members of his committee helped organize a one-day seminar with the Association of University Technology Managers on February 27.  The seminar will focus on IP licensing issues between universities and corporations, discuss the common problems that arise during licensing discussions and demonstrate successful solutions.  For more information and to register, click here.