IP and Innovation on Capitol Hill: Week of February 4...
House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
116th Business Meeting
10:00 AM on Wednesday in 2318 Rayburn House Office Building
The full House Science Committee will convene a hearing to discuss committee rules for the 116th Congress which began this January and will continue until January 2021. The proposed rules delegate jurisdiction for federally funded and directed research activities to the five standing subcommittees of the full committee. Jurisdiction over patent and intellectual property policy is to be delegated to Subcommittee on Research and Technology.
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Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Executive Business Meeting
10:00 AM on Thursday in 216 Hart
The Senate Judiciary Committee will consider the nomination of 45 individuals to serve as members of the federal judiciary. Although the nomination of William Pelham Barr to serve as Attorney General will likely garner the most media attention, there are a few nominees for judgeships that could be of interest to the intellectual property crowd. Bridget S. Bade and Eric D. Miller have been nominated to serve as Circuit Judges in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which sees a great deal of copyright and trademark cases due to its jurisdiction over appeals from California district courts. The Senate Judiciary Committee will also consider the nominations of J. Campbell Barker and Michael J. Truncale to serve as District Judges in the Eastern District of Texas, which trails only the District of Delaware in terms of patent case filings.
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U.S. Chamber of Commerce
2019 International IP Index Release
5:00 PM on Thursday at 1615 H Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20062
The international ranking of the U.S. patent system has taken a dive in recent versions of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce International IP Index, falling to as low as 12th last year after being considered the gold standard patent system for two centuries. Although the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and Director Andrei Iancu have taken some steps to restore certainty in patentability, most recently by releasing revised guidance on subject matter eligibility, many issues remain that could continue to impact the U.S. patent system’s ranking in the Chamber’s latest IP Index.
https://www.ipwatchdog.com/2019/02/04/ip-innovation-capitol-hill-week-february-4/id=105960/