On the recordMarch 9, 2010
I come to the floor today to speak on an issue that is of great importance to small businesses and independent inventors everywhere--patent reform. I understand that the Senate Judiciary Committee has been hard at work analyzing what reforms would improve the U.S. patent system. One of these reforms would involve changing the U.S. from a ``first to invent'' to a ``first to file'' invention priority system. As Chair of the Senate Committee on Small Business & Entrepreneurship, I want to ensure that Congress' reform will create a patent regime that will not unduly burden small businesses and independent inventors, but instead, enhance their success as innovators in the U.S. economy. Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all employers, employing /2 of the U.S. labor force. These businesses are at the forefront of U.S. innovation and have produced over 80 percent of net new jobs in the U.S. economy over the past decade. At a time when our Nation's economy is under stress, we need the help of small businesses in creating new jobs and economic opportunities.
