Banks and Credit Unions Work Together on Patent Reform

On June 29, the American Bankers Association and the Credit Union National Association along with 11 other trade associations wrote to the Senate leadership encouraging them to bring House-passed patent-reform legislation (H.R. 1249) to the floor as soon as possible. The legislation includes provisions (Section 18) supported by the banking and credit union industries to create a procedure to re-examine business-method patents as an alternative to costly litigation.

Here is the text of the letter.

We are writing to encourage you to bring H.R. 1249, the “Leahy-Smith America Invents Act,” to the Senate floor at your earliest possible convenience and send the bill to the President’s desk to be signed into law. H.R. 1249 closely mirrors the Senate bill that passed earlier this year by an overwhelming 95-5 vote.

Patent reform is essential legislation: enactment will spur innovation creating jobs and ensure that the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has the tools necessary to maintain our patent system as the best in the world. We strongly support the improved re-examination procedures in H.R. 1249, which will allow the experts at PTO to review low-quality business-method patents against the best prior art. Equally important, the bill provides the PTO with increased and predictable funding. This certainty is absolutely critical if the PTO is to properly allocate resources and hire and retain the expertise necessary to benefit the entire user-community.

This bill has been nearly a decade in the making and is supported by a vast cross-section of all types of inventors and businesses. It is time to send patent reform to the President for signature, and we strongly encourage the Senate to take up and pass H.R. 1249 without delay.