A bill to amend various aspects of patent law was passed by 220 votes to 175, following a two-hour debate on Friday.
Although the bill had bipartisan sponsorship, it was backed much more strongly by Democrats than Republicans: 160 Democrats voted in favour of the bill and 58 voted against, compared to 60 Republicans in favour and 117 against. There were 37 Representatives who did not vote.
The bill, HR 1908, would implement a first inventor-to-file system, subject to Europe and Japan introducing a grace period – a change which is thought by many to be unlikely.
It would also introduce a post-grant opposition procedure at the USPTO as well as measures to improve the quality of granted patents.
Among the most controversial proposals are plans to change the rules on how damages are calculated in patent infringement cases. In particular, section 5 of the bill aims to limit damages awarded to the specific contribution of the patented invention over the prior art.
This provision is opposed by many patent owners, who argue that it will reduce the value of valid patents. It is also opposed by the White House.
The passage by the House does not mean that the bill is likely to become law. It is just the latest stage in the attempt to revise US patent law that began in 2001 as a result of concerns about patent abuses and patent trolls, as well as the need to harmonize protection.
Attention will now turn to the Senate, which is considering a parallel bill (S1145) that started off being identical to that in the House but which has since been modified in committee.
No date has been set yet for debate on this bill, and in any case it is likely to be much harder for reform legislation to be approved in the Senate.
If and when S1145 is passed by the Senate, it is likely that a conference will be held to reconcile that bill with HR1908. This would probably lead to further changes and possibly passage of a compromise bill, which would then have to be signed by the President.
Even if this process goes smoothly, it will take many more months of negotiation.
The Coalition for Patent Fairness, whose members include Sun Microsystems and Time Warner, has consistently backed reform. The Coalition welcomed the passage of the bill in the House, saying it will improve the US patent system.
Policy counsel Jonathan Yarowsky described it as "a victory for American innovators and consumers".
But Biotechnology Industry Organization president Jim Greenwood said the legislation in both the House and Senate "do far more harm than good" to the US patent system.
A statement issued by the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform, whose members include Procter & Gamble and Boston Scientific, said the legislation passed by the House "remains neither fair nor balanced" and "favours infringers over inventors". It described the damages provisions, which include a prior art subtraction requirement, as "fundamentally flawed and unworkable".
But it added that members were "encouraged" that the bill’s sponsors in the House are willing to address areas of concern, including damages.
