Washington, Jun 1, 2011 -
***LOCATION CHANGE***

When: Wednesday, June 1, 2011 
            12:30pm

Where: NEW LOCATION
              Rayburn 2325, Space Subcommittee Room
              Washington, DC

What: Reps. Rohrabacher and Kaptur will be joined by Members, constitutional scholars and inventors, in bipartisan opposition to H.R. 1249, The America Invents Act. The lawmakers will unveil a letter signed by close to 50 bipartisan Members, addressed to the House Rules Committee, requesting time for the constitutionality of the bill to be adequately debated.

Reps. Rohrabacher and Kaptur will also call for H.R. 1249 to be rejected by the House of Representatives and replaced with a bill that straightens out the current mess of backlogs, delays, and inadequate funding at the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Lawmakers are concerned several of the bill’s provisions are not only unconstitutional, but a “jobs-killer” that harms the main source of new jobs in the economy, small businesses and start-ups. In its current form, H.R. 1249 greatly increases costs on the “little guy” inventors seeking patents making it a cost prohibitive venture in many cases and increases the likelihood any patents that are granted will be infringed upon and subsequently tied up for years in the bureaucracy under the new procedures.

The ill-advised bill also contains a new bailout for large banks, one that taxpayers will be on the hook for. It "harmonizes" the vastly successful 220 year American patent system with those of Europe and Japan, far less innovative economies, for the convenience of outsourcing multinational corporations.


Who:   Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) 
            Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) 
            Kevin L. Kearns, US Business and Industry Council 
            Jonathan Massey, Constitutional Expert, Massey & Gail 
            Adam Mossoff, Constitutional Scholar, GMU Professor 
            David Boundy, patent expert, Cantor Fitzgerald 
            Participants from the inventor, venture capital, and University tech transfer communities.

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