On the recordMarch 2, 2011
We have stabilized the economic freefall and begun to revive the economy. Everyone knows that economic growth is the path toward budget balance. Economic growth and winning the future through American innovation is what the bipartisan American Invents Act is all about. Today, there are more than 700,000 unexamined patent applications log-jammed at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Many of them represent inventions that will come to market and launch new businesses and create new, high-paying jobs. But without a patent, securing the funds needed to get a business or innovation off the ground is nearly impossible, for both small and large inventors alike. Patent reform legislation the Senate is considering this week can change that. And it can build on the progress USPTO Director David Kappos has already made in reducing the time it takes to process the average patent--currently nearly 3 years.
