Lamar Smith: “I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Chair, I oppose the amendment to change the effective date for the tax…”

“I yield myself the balance of my time. Madam Chair, I oppose the amendment to change the effective date for the tax strategy method section of the bill. It is possible to patent tax strategy methods, but it is bad policy. It is not fair to permit patents on techniques regularly used to satisfy a government mandate, such as one that requires individuals and businesses to pay taxes. Tax preparers, lawyers, and planners have a long history of sharing their knowledge regarding how to file returns, plan estates, and advise clients. They maintain that allowing the patentability of tax strategy methods will complicate the tax filing process and inhibit the ability of preparers to provide quality services for their clients. The effective date applies to any patent application that is pending on, or filed on or after, the date of enactment and to any patent that is issued on or after that date. The gentleman's amendment eliminates the application of this provision to those applications pending on the date of enactment. These applications have not been approved so I disagree with excluding these patents-in-waiting. It was a mistake for the PTO to issue these patents in the first place, given their potential to harm individual taxpayers and tax return preparers. We shouldn't leave the door ajar by allowing more applications in. This just compounds the very problem we're trying to solve. I oppose the gentleman's amendment, and I urge my colleagues to vote against it.…”