The Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property of the House Judiciary Committee held hearings on April 21 on Patent Quality Improvement.

Links to the Committee Print bill and to witness statements are here.

Another hearing is set for April 28. The final witness list has not yet gelled, but one participant will be Nathan Myhrvold, former CTO of Microsoft and founder of Intellectual Ventures.

UPGRADE (12:00 noon): The Senate Judiciary Committee is holding hearings today, says C|Net News:

Among those scheduled to testify: Segway inventor Dean Kamen, and lawyers for Intel and Micron Technologies. Meanwhile, the European Parliament is debating whether to permit U.S.-style software patents, a move that's opposed by free software advocates.