A panel on patent reform at the State of the Net conference on Wednesday included staffers of Senators Leahy & Specter and Representatives Boucher & Goodlatte.

It was an amicable session. All agreed that patent reform is a high priority, that the issues are not partisan, that the extensive hearings already held obviate the need for a lot more, that last year's bill is a good basis (though Specter is less wedded to it), and that floor action in March or April is possible.

One issue on which I would like to see some hearings: Could a combination of progress in search engine methodology and improvements in patent specificity and description eliminate the need for some of the changes being discussed, such as more proceedings? As I noted back in December, after attending a patent conference:

One presentation focused on the impressive ongoing initiatives to improve databases and search capacities for patent-related information. Success here, and it looks doable, would greatly enhance access to prior art for both applicants and examiners, would improve patent quality, and would help focus inventive energy on new problems rather than recycled ones.

Meanwhile, up on the Hill, there are pending legislative proposals that are old-technology, lawyer-based efforts to add layers of procedure to the patenting process, on the theory that multiplying layers of review will improve decisions.

Success in the information technology efforts will obsolete many of the proposed reforms. Someone should tell Congress.

posted by James DeLong @ 11:36 AM | Patents

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