Michael Bennet: “I would like to speak briefly on my amendment to strike the damages and venue provisions from this legislation. I thank…”

“I would like to speak briefly on my amendment to strike the damages and venue provisions from this legislation. I thank the chairman and committee for working with my office on this important amendment and incorporating it into the managers' amendment. I know the committee has been working tirelessly to address concerns with this bill, and I applaud their efforts for trying to build consensus. As I discussed yesterday, I believe a well-functioning patent system is critical for our economic growth. The reforms in this legislation will promote innovation and create jobs. In my State alone, nearly 20,000 patent applications have been granted between the years 2000 and 2009. These applications have created the foundation for our clean energy economy and emerging tech and bio industries. Small inventors start new Colorado companies, and more established companies are able to expand their operations in a very competitive, knowledge-based economy. An efficient and high-quality U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is essential to maintaining American leadership in innovation. The improvements to the patent system in this bill will help us grow new industries and will help cure the backlog and delay that has stunted the ability of inventors to patent their ideas. Right now, the average pendency period for a patent application is 36 months. That is unacceptable if we are to compete with the rest of the world.”