A Brief History of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Patents
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary was established in 1816 as one of the first standing Senate committees. Initially, the Committee's jurisdiction extended to oversight of the government's issuance of patents. In 1837, this responsibility shifted when the standing Senate Committee on Patents was created to specifically oversee and manage a growing number of patent issuances and requests. Legislation considered and reported by the Committee on Patents between 1840 and 1890 dealt with patent, copyright, and trademark laws.
During this time, the Committee on Patents frequently drafted private legislation, which typically stemmed from a petition filed by an individual for "redress of grievances" (see First Amendment, U.S. Constitution). In many cases, the legislation would address protections not provided to an inventor by existing patent law. Congress would then vote to amend the patent law to correct any inadequacies addressed by the private legislation. Jurisdiction returned to the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks with the enactment of the Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946, the most comprehensive reorganization of Congress to date.
In recent years, several bipartisan efforts have emerged to modernize and reform existing patent law. The Patent Reform Act, the most recent legislative effort, was reported by the Judiciary Committee in April 2009, and is currently awaiting consideration by the full Senate. Among some of the proposed improvements is changing our patent system from "first-to-invent" to a "first-inventor-to-file" system, which will simplify the nation's patent application process. The proposed legislation would also improve the process for the reexamination of patent grants. A post-grant review process would allow third parties to challenge the validity of a patent up to nine months after a patent is issued, improving patent quality. The Patent Reform Act has been considered in each of the last three Congresses, and would make the most significant changes to the U.S. patent system in more than 55 years.
Sources:
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, http://www.uspto.gov/
National Archives, http://www.archives.gov/
