Patent Reform legislation is back again in the form of S. 515 and HR 1260. In fact, the Senate Judiciary Committee may vote on this legislation on Thursday, April 2, 2009.
This legislation could significantly affect the ability of AUTM members to license technology and spin off startup companies from university technologies. Over the past year, the AUTM Board initiated a process to work more closely with the university associations, including the Association of American Universities (AAU) , the American Council on Education (ACE), the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR).
The purpose of this process is to ensure AUTM’s issues are heard at the association level. In addition, when speaking to elected representatives, having the support of all of the educational associations will make our message so much stronger.
The latest effort of this collaboration was to develop a joint response to patent reform legislation for the membership of all of the university association partners. While there was not full consensus on all issues among the university community,, you should review the bills and work with senior management and your government relations officers to identify the pros and cons for your institution.
On the AUTM Web site, you will find the
joint statement reflecting the views of the university associations on
S. 515. Please note that the Senate bill appears to be moving more quickly than the House bill at this point, and amendments to S. 515 are being shared formally or informally. If you would like to be more involved in discussing patent reform legislation, please join the AUTM Patent Reform Subcommittee and post comments to this blog.
I would like to thank John Vaughn, Executive Vice President of AAU, for his tireless efforts to accommodate not only AUTM, but the other associations as well. Please read the joint association statement on the AUTM Web site and contact your government relations officers and ask them to help you communicate any concerns to your elected representatives.