Richmond Times Dispatch

"If just one questionable patent can restrict innovation and competition, imagine the economic harm wrought by several thousand questionable patents... For the sake of workers, consumers, and the health of America's -- and Virginia's -- economy, the Senate should follow the House's lead and pass the Patent Reform Act of 2007."

San Jose Mercury News

"The United States needs to improve patent quality, rein in litigation abuses and modernize a patent system that hasn't been substantially updated in five decades...A modern and fair patent system will spur innovation, keeping the United States a world leader in technology."

New Haven Register

"The country's system of granting patents for inventions, last revised some 50 years ago, needs updating... There has been a growing concern, expressed by the U.S. Supreme Court, that standards for granting patents need to be tightened."

Albuquerque Journal

"Our nation's outdated patent system curtails creativity and innovation by creating an atmosphere where poor patent quality combined with underfunded, overworked patent examiners, leads to unnecessary litigation that costs companies and individuals billions... For the sake of workers, consumers and businesses in New Mexico and across the country, the Senate needs to complete what the House has already accomplished- pass the Patent Reform Act of 2007 without delay."

San Francisco Chronicle

"...inequities in the patent system threaten to curtail innovative growth that could have a devastating impact on our economy and nation's ability to innovate... Improving our nation's patent system is not just a business or technology issue. It is an issue that affects our ability to create the jobs our citizens need and the products they want to purchase."

San Jose Mercury News

"It's no secret that the U.S. patent system is dysfunctional... Lawmakers need to strengthen the system by improving patent quality and reining in abuses. A fair system that protects the rights of creators of true innovation while curbing legal excesses is crucial to ensuring that the United States - and Silicon Valley - remain at the forefront of tech leadership."

The Washington Post

"Some inventors use dubious patents to extract large payments from high-tech companies, which usually find it cheaper to buy off purported inventors than to battle them in court. This is not a pro-innovation patent system; it's an anti-competitive one."

Corpus Christi Caller Times

"Reforming our nation's patent system is critical to our economic health and competitiveness, and will directly impact the ability of companies such as Dell to provide the latest technologies and services to its customers... By working to restore balance to the U.S. patent litigation system, Cornyn, Smith and their colleagues are doing our economy a world of good."

The Oregonian

"...our current patent system is woefully outdated and threatens to curtail creativity and innovation by creating an atmosphere where poor patent quality combined with underfunded, overworked patent officials leads to unnecessary litigation that costs companies and individuals billions of dollars a year.... Congress needs to step up and defend innovation and consumers in Oregon and across the nation by passing the Patent Reform Act of 2007."

San Francisco Chronicle

"Washington hasn't redrawn the rules in a major way since the 1950s, long before research, competition and the computer age produced a waterfall of new patents. The result, complain a host of business sectors, is a legal battleground where scattershot court decisions and murky rules are hindering innovation and clogging courts."

The Washington Times

"...our patent system is broken. Patents are increasingly used not as shields to protect the fruits of creativity from misappropriation, but as weapons to extract money from the productive part of society and transfer it to entrepreneurial speculators whose only innovation is new ways to game the system."

Houston Chronicle

"The last major updating of our patent system was in 1952. Back then, no one had heard of The Beatles and a long-distance telephone call was considered 'high-tech.' Yet this same system is expected to perform in today's faster paced, technology- based economy. If our patent system isn't updated, the consequences could be loss of innovation and jobs."

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

"...imbalances in America's patent law are becoming an impediment to our country's global leadership in scientific and technological innovation and overall economic prosperity. Fortunately, a bipartisan leadership team in Congress is working to enact the Patent Reform Act of 2007 (H.R. 1908 and S.1145). This legislation is designed to ensure that America remains a leader in global innovation by modernizing the U.S. patent laws."

The San Diego Union-Tribune

"The last time Congress made major changes to patent law was in 1952. Back then, computers were run by punch cards and Sputnik was still the stuff of science fiction. Our economy has changed, and it's time our patent system caught up."

The Boston Globe

"The days when typewriters reigned supreme are in fact the last time our nation's patent laws were updated to stimulate innovation and grow our economy. And as the economic landscape has changed, so too should the patent laws...Congress should act to encourage economic competitiveness, foster economic growth, and contribute to job creation. Congress should stand on the side of innovation. Congress should pass the Patent Reform Act of 2007."

The Arizona Republic

"Today, our patent system is unable to deal with complex intellectual property issues and too antiquated to properly spur innovation. We need to make changes to the patent system to encourage innovation, promote growth and maintain U.S. competitiveness in a global economy...For the sake of workers, consumers and businesses in the United States, it's time for Congress to pass the Patent Reform Act of 2007."

The Daily Deal

"Earlier this year, both houses of Congress introduced a comprehensive patent reform bill...Congress' bill offers the first shot at wide-ranging reform in more than half a century... From the perspective of interdependent firms in information technology and financial services, the keystone of the reform bill is damages apportionment...The Supreme Court recognized the issue exactly in its eBay opinion. Shouldn't Congress be able to fix it?"

Austin American Statesman

"...the last time patent laws were overhauled was more than 50 years ago � more than enough time for people to figure out loopholes, and for the nature and notion of invention to change completely. That's why the Patent Reform Act of 2007...is such a landmark development. It promises to modernize our invention ecosystem, produce and protect better ideas, and free inventors to think less about patent litigation and more about innovation."

The Wall Street Journal

"The Patent Reform Act of 2007 responds to the need for comprehensive patent reform that protects the rights of inventors while eliminating the incentives that encourage speculators to game the system. No good-faith patent holder with a substantial claim of infringement would be denied his day in court, or appropriate remedies for infringement. The bill would benefit inventors, consumers and businesses, while maintaining faith in the 'crown jewel' of America's intellectual property system."

The Salt Lake Tribune

"The U.S. economy continues to shine like a beacon of innovation for the rest of the world, but some critical aspects of the patent system have fallen out of balance. Most notably, abusive patent litigation and low patent quality are stifling innovation. Fortunately, Congress is taking action. Leaders in both the House and the Senate have introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation that will strengthen and balance our patent system... [the] Patent Reform Act of 2007."

The Charlotte Observer

one sec "The Patent Reform Act of 2007 would strengthen and clarify patent guidelines so overall patent quality is improved...Enacting these improvements into law will boost our nation's competitiveness, spur economic growth and foster greater investment, job creation and innovation in North Carolina and across the country."

The (Raleigh) News & Observer

"The Patent Reform Act would give patent examiners greater ability to review patents, improving their quality and minimizing litigation. The measures also would restore fairness and common sense to the standards for awarding reasonable damages...Swift passage of meaningful patent reform will bolster our innovative capacity and cement our nation's position as the global economic leader. This is great news for consumers and workers � both in North Carolina and across America."

The Wall Street Journal

"...the patent system needs two things above all: better patents and less litigation, and the two are related...Last month's Supreme Court decision in KSR v. Teleflex put down a marker on the 'obviousness' of inventions that ought to be relevant to patent examiners who are considering whether to grant an application."

The Wall Street Journal

"Critics...have pushed long and hard for an overhaul of the system, which still follows the basic framework of the Patent Act of 1952, enacted well before the computer age sparked a whole new level -- and style � of innovation....In recent years, the Supreme Court has underscored the patent system's disrepair in a series of rulings rejecting the way lower courts have been interpreting existing law. The justices have declared, in effect, that the patent system, as it has developed through the courts, has deviated from the balance Congress set a half-century ago between promoting innovation and spreading the fruits of progress."

The Oklahoman

"Given the importance of intellectual property for the United States, it is critical that our patent system is designed to maximize growth and competitiveness. Fortunately, Congress took a big step in this direction recently when a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation in the House and Senate to do just that....Swift passage of meaningful patent reform will bolster our innovative capacity and cement our nation's position as the global economic leader."

The Providence Journal

"With the introduction of the Patent Reform Act of 2007, Congress has an excellent opportunity to make needed improvements to our nation's patent system in order to strike a better balance between allowing patent holders to reap the benefits of their inventions and curtailing known abuses of the patent system...Congress should stand on the side of innovation and pass the Patent Reform Act of 2007 into law."

Financial Times

"The US Supreme Court has done what it can to reform the patent system, including a recent ruling attacking obvious patents. Now it is time for Congress to act ...."

The Washington Post

"...legislative action is ... necessary to strike a better balance between open competition and patent restriction in the United States."

Rocky Mountain News

"The U.S. Supreme Court is pointedly pushing Congress toward reforming the nation's patent law to fit better with advances in technology, and last week it pushed just a little harder with two decisions [Microsoft v. AT&T and KSR v.Teleflex] making it easier for companies to defend themselves against infringement suits...A reform attempt failed in Congress last year; we hope for better results this time."

The Economist

"The underlying problem is that as the number of patents, and the value of each one, has increased tremendously, the system has been slow to adapt. The flood of applications taxed patent offices, creating huge backlogs and lengthy delays. Standards slipped. The number of lawsuits and value of settlements shot up."

The Economist

"The dirty little secret about American patents is that they are too easy to file, too easy to defend, and too easy to use for nobbling legitimate competition... Of late, the balance in America has been tipped too much in the patent-holder's favor. In the process, American consumers have paid dearly through their loss of choice."

The Wall Street Journal

"...the Supreme Court is restoring some sanity to America's runaway patent law... it will help rein in what has become a proliferation of patents for increasingly small or dubious technology adaptations. This in turn is damaging innovation by throwing more and more business decisions into patent court."

Los Angeles Times

"Rather than letting the courts rewrite the patent system one element at a time, Congress should overhaul it .... [The Patent Reform Act of 2007] would be a good start in pushing the system toward better patents and less abuse."

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Patent law hasn't had an overhaul since the 1950s. It's time to bring it into the 21st century."

San Jose Mercury News

"Congress needs to pass long-stalled patent reforms that were reintroduced last week by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers in both chambers... The patent reform bill would scale back infringement damages and...create an appeals process to resolve challenges within the patent office, reducing the number of cases clogging the courts."

San Antonio Express News

"The U.S. patent system... has fallen out of balance, and key aspects of it are showing their age. To fix this, Congress needs to get involved.... Reps. Lamar Smith and Sheila Jackson Lee and Sen. John Cornyn are sponsoring bipartisan, bicameral legislation � the Patent Reform Act � to address these issues...In the interest of innovation and global competitiveness, it's time for Congress to rally behind these bills and make the right type of changes that will help restore balance to our patent system."

The (Harrisburg) Patriot-News

"The debate over reforming our patent litigation system marches on in our courts and in Congress. How they ultimately decide this issue could have a tremendous impact on the economy and the ability of businesses in the United States to continue to lead the world in technical innovations...With so much at stake, making a few changes to our patent system to help improve innovation and grow the economy is just the right thing to do."

Financial Times

"There is a growing consensus in America that the US patent system has gone haywire....more and more companies, academics, economists, judges and even legislators agree that something must be done...Congress can and should rewrite patent law...while there is still time � before the next election sabotages bipartisanship."

Los Angeles Times

"The purpose of patents, like copyrights, is to promote innovation by giving inventors exclusive rights to use and distribute their creations for a limited time. There's no requirement that a patent holder create products based on the invention; to do so would give big companies an unfair advantage over small players with good ideas. But lately there's been a trend in the opposite direction: Patent holders stay on the sidelines while large companies build the market for a technology, then the patent holders claim that their rights have been infringed and demand...royalties that...are far above what the market has established [the] technology to be worth."

The National Journal's Congress Daily

"Updating the nation's patent laws will be the chief priority of the House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee in the 110th Congress, members told National Journal's Technology Daily in a series of interviews...Rep. Howard Berman, D-Calif., the subcommittee's chairman, has pushed patent reform for more than five years, ever since he read studies by the FTC and national academies that indicated the existing system is ill-suited for the high- tech age...The consequence is too much time being taken to get patents issued and 'things being patented that shouldn't have been patented,' he said."

(New Hampshire) Union-Leader

"Fixing the broken patent system...is important to every sector of our economy � from high-tech to manufacturing to real estate and finance. We need a fair patent law that protects innovators from pirates who would steal ideas and profit from others' hard work... The Coalition for Patent Fairness is working hard to strengthen and modernize our system so future innovators can continue to improve our world without having to look over their shoulder to see who might waiting to litigate their success away."

The Salt Lake Tribune

"In our high-tech economy, promoting knowledge and invention is even more important today than it was when our country began. Congress' laws governing patent enforcement, however, have not kept up with the fast-paced and highly complex advances in technology that have emerged in the past 10 years... Fortunately, Congress is ready to take action. Sen. Orrin Hatch has recently introduced legislation, S.3818, the Patent Reform Act of 2006, which will restore balance to the patent system..."

The New York Times

"Congress needs to make spurious patents easier to challenge across the board...Patents are supposed to encourage innovation, rewarding the individual for the greater good of society. But excessive or overly broad patents can slow business activity to the pace of cold molasses."

The New York Times

"What sets Marshall apart from its neighbors is a red-hot patent docket. Four years ago, 32 patent lawsuits were filed in the Federal Eastern District of Texas, which includes Tyler, Texarkana and Marshall. This year, an estimated 234 cases will be filed in the district, a majority of them in Marshall... Patent litigation is a growing business across the country; Marshall is just the most visible example. Among the weightier issues behind the mushrooming of its patent docket is whether the elements that have made it expand � hungry plaintiffs' lawyers, speedy judges and plaintiff-friendly juries � are encouraging an excess of expensive litigation that is actually stifling innovation."

The Capitol Times & Wisconsin State Journal

"Our patent system was designed to promote inventions to benefit all by protecting the intellectual property of creative individuals and organizations. That would catalyze the free enterprise system... That premise remains sound. The processes, however, require changes to ensure invention are not delayed, missed altogether, or inadvertently infringed upon."

Arizona Daily Star

"If the people seeking royalties are willing to settle for less that what it would cost to challenge the patent in court, it often becomes a business decision for companies, and a lot of them are settling," [Andy Pincus, partner with the law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP] said. "The real danger here is that with these kinds of economic burdens, it means that it may not pay for people to develop innovative devices, and that a system designed to protect innovation is being abused and actually stopping innovation."

Arizona Daily Star

"...the balance of power between plaintiffs and defendants in the patent-litigation system is out of whack. Patent-litigation plaintiffs have an unnatural advantage today...These companies should be spending time, money and manpower on innovating and growing � creating more jobs, lowering consumer prices, delivering more value to shareholders. But instead they are being forced to waste more and more of their resources fighting illegitimate patent litigation."

Austin American Statesman

"...new 'speculative plaintiffs,' companies exclusively dedicated to suing others, are on the rise...Patents support creativity and innovation by protecting intellectual property and providing inventors with the exclusive rights to develop products. But the system that governs how patent holders can use the courts to protect patents favors this new breed of speculative plaintiffs."

San Jose Mercury News

"Today's patent litigation system is tilted in favor of plaintiffs, especially in the information technology industries, where patents are easy to get and their scope hard to define. As a result, a growing number of companies are building business models around exploiting loopholes in the patent system...If the United States is to remain the world leader in innovation and invention, we must not allow the very system that encourages inventors to become their greatest enemy."

Financial Times

"Finally, the US Supreme Court has taken a first step toward rewriting the rules of American innovation � but much more needs to be done...Congress can, and should, now step in to help patent challengers from shopping around for friendly judges: the Supreme Court ruling has made that imperative. America has taken the first step toward leveling the playing field in patent litigation. There is no excuse to stop now."

Los Angeles Times

"The system yields too many bad patents, particularly when business methods are concerned. Proposals that would significantly strengthen the process have been bottled up in Congress. Now that the Supreme Court has started fixing the patent morass, lawmakers need to finish the job."

The Wall Street Journal

"The 12-page decision isn't going to fix all that ails our patent system. But in taking away the threat of a crippling automatic injunction in unwarranted cases, it's progress."

The Globe and Mail

"...Judge Ward's court has earned a reputation for churning out big jury awards and handling cases with lightning speed. Nine times out of 10, dating back to 1994, plaintiffs have come up winners in jury trials."

Austin American-Statesman

"In the past four years, 70 percent of all patent lawsuits filed in the 43-county Eastern District of Texas were filed in Marshall."