Lamar Smith: “I oppose the motion to recommit and urge my colleagues to defeat it. The America Invents Act is the culmination of 6…”

“I oppose the motion to recommit and urge my colleagues to defeat it. The America Invents Act is the culmination of 6 years of effort. During this time, the House and Senate Judiciary Committees conducted 23 hearings on patent reform and brokered numerous negotiations among Members and stakeholders. H.R. 1249 has garnered bipartisan and widespread support. This bill improves patent integrity in PTO operations. The bill helps businesses from a broad range of industries, independent inventors, and universities. But the biggest winners are the American people. They will get more job opportunities and greater consumer choices. This amendment would mean that U.S. companies and inventors would be discriminated against all over the world when they file. It would be open season on American innovators and businesses. We would no longer be able to sell products abroad, and IP theft of U.S. goods would become rampant. Mr. Speaker, this motion to recommit also consigns our patent system to the one created in the 1952 Patent Act, an era of landline telephones, TVs that offered three fuzzy black-and-white channels, and the manual typewriter. We need to update our patent system, and we need to do it now. Oppose the motion to recommit and support H.R. 1249. I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the previous question is ordered on the motion to recommit. There was no objection. The SPEAKER pro tempore.…”