The promise of Patent Reform reminds me a bit of Lucy's perennial football prank on Charlie Brown in the Peanuts comic strip. Every year Congress tees up a reform package designed to cure the ills of the Patent System, patent practitioners and business owners get excited about the first real reform of the patent system in decades and then, like Lucy, Congress yanks the ball away by closing its legislative session without taking action.

This past year was no different. In March, the Senate introduced the Patent Reform Act of 2010. The Act included a number of measures to provide clarity in the patent system and to curb patent litigation abuses. For example, the 2010 Act provided guidance on patent damages, raised the bar for finding willful infringement, discouraged forum shopping and eliminated false marking suits where the plaintiff could not show competitive damage. All in all, the 2010 Act was seen as pro business and a good first step towards much needed systemic change.

The Act also had broad support. In September 2010, a bipartisan group of 25 senators (14 Democrats, 10 Republicans and one Independent) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid encouraging him to bring the Act to the Senate floor for consideration. In making their case, the bipartisan group promoted their view that a well functioning patent system would help stimulate the economy and create jobs. Unfortunately, with a majority in both houses and a Democrat in the White House, Senator Reid had bigger fish to fry. Reid's office issued a statement indicating that while Patent Reform was “an important issue, we have many items to consider before the end of the year and not much time to consider them.”