US Senators Leahy and Hatch introduce sweeping patent reform bill

Just as the US Senate was about to adjourn for its August recess, two of its leaders on intellectual property issues have joined together to introduce comprehensive patent reform legislation that would address what they say is the "urgent need for revision and renewal in the complicated, cumbersome but vital US patent process."

Senator Patrick Leahy (Democrat-Vermont), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the leading Democratic member of its Intellectual Property Subcommittee, has teamed up with Senator Orrin Hatch (Republican-Utah), the chairman of the IP Subcommittee, on a bill that would overhaul the US patent system by implementing new, streamlined international standards, updating the existing patent code, and bringing clarity to the complicated administrative review process.