by Gary Jones
FLC Washington, DC Representative
Greetings from D.C. As we head into the summer doldrums and toward the summer recess, party conventions, fall campaigns and elections, legislative activity is likely to slow down considerably. I thought I would take the time now to briefly highlight the status of a few salient pieces of legislation of interest to the FLC community that have seen some action in the past several months, including bills just introduced, passed and awaiting presidential signature, or removed from the calendar.
Patent Reform. As everyone involved in technology transfer is aware, there has been a concerted effort over the past several years to pass comprehensive patent reform legislation.
The latest effort progressed to the point this spring where the House version (H.R. 1908; passed last fall) was awaiting passage of the Senate version (S. 1145) to go to conference for a final bill to present to the President.
The main sticking point in both bills is the issue of how to apportion damage awards for patent infringement. Although somewhat oversimplified, the general battle line for this issue falls between the high tech and the life sciences sectors, each of which has strong and opposing views on how this particular provision should be crafted.
The end result, after two years of legislative proposals, debate (and intense lobbying from all sides), and passage of the House version? The Senate removed its version from their calendar in mid-May. As reported by I/P Watch, the bill "will not be added again until Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, signals Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that an agreement has been reached on the language." A Senate aide was quoted in the same article as saying, "We haven't been able to reach that final agreement … We're not ready for patent reform at this time … [but] patent reform is not off the table."
The Small Business Innovation Research Program. This program sunsets this year. In April, the House passed the Science and Technology Innovation Act of 2008 (H.R. 5819), its version of SBIR reauthorization.
The bill reauthorizes the SBIR and STTR programs through 2010; increases Phase I awards from $100,000 to $300,000 and Phase II awards from $750,000 to $2.2 million; allows cross-agency awards and applications to apply directly for Phase II funding; and allows small businesses backed by venture capital to apply for awards (defining eligibility requirements), among numerous other provisions. The House bill now awaits action in the Senate before a final bill/law can be passed.
As reported in the SBIR Insider, preliminary indications suggest that the Senate is "less than enthusiastic" about the House version, particularly the expanded opportunities for venture capital-backed entities, and passage of the bill as currently written is unlikely. If a final bill is not passed into law by October, we may be looking at a continuing resolution for the current program.
DOE Advanced Energy Technology Transfer Centers. A large multi-program bill (S. 2739; P.L. 110-229 when signed, which may occur before this goes to press) passed by both the House and Senate and awaiting the President's signature, has language directing the Department of Energy to "make grants to nonprofit institutions, State and local governments, cooperative extension services, or institutions of higher education (or consortia thereof ), to establish a geographically dispersed network of Advanced Energy Technology Transfer Centers…" (amending the Energy Policy Act of 2005). The grants are for five years and can be used for a variety of activities, as spelled out in the bill.
National Innovation Foundation. In early June, Senators Collins (R-ME) and Clinton (D-NY) introduced the National Innovation and Job Creation Act of 2008 (S. 3078), which calls for a National Innovation Council within the Executive Office of the President to "coordinate Federal innovation policy and provide financial assistance for State and local innovation initiatives."
The legislation, as currently constructed, would effectively transfer "functions, personnel, assets and liabilities" of several existing programs to the Council. Programs that would be moved from the National Institute of Standards and Technology include the Manufacturing Extension Partnership program, Technology Innovation Program and the Office of Technology Partnerships. Programs to be moved from the National Science Foundation include Partnerships for Innovation, the Industry-University Cooperative Research Center program and the Engineering Research Center program; and from the Department of Labor, the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development program. The act also identifies five new grant programs to be administered by the Council to support state-directed technology-based economic development efforts.
Gary can be reached at gkjones@federallabs.org.
