On the recordJune 23, 2011
This expansion of prior-user rights is a step in the wrong direction. It goes against what this House determined 4 years ago when we last debated this issue, and also it is different than what the Senate has done in March of this year. The fundamental principle of patent law is disclosure, and the provision in this bill that the amendment seeks to strike goes directly against disclosure and instead encourages people who may invent not to even file for a patent, and that will slow down research and expanding the knowledge of humans. The gentleman from Texas talks about manufacturing. I am all for manufacturing. I think we all are all for manufacturing. But what this does is it helps old manufacturing, which we need to help, but it also puts new manufacturing in the deep freeze because they use the disclosures that are required as a part of a patent application. You vote for the amendment if you want disclosure and advancement of human knowledge. You vote against the amendment if you want secrecy in this process. The Acting CHAIR. All time has expired. The question is on the amendment offered by the gentlewoman from Wisconsin (Ms. Baldwin). The question was taken; and the Acting CHAIR announced that the noes appeared to have it.
