Press Releases

This year, the House is laser-focused on common sense ways to boost economic security by breaking down barriers to American innovation and the job growth it supports, without spending any more of your hard-earned tax dollars.

Patent ownership is just this kind of incentive for businesses to innovate and grow their company, and it can greatly benefit the employees and future employees: Worldwide, 75% of higher incomes are explained by higher, innovation-driven productivity.

That’s why I was proud to support the America Invents Act, recently signed into law, which makes the most significant changes to the U.S. patent statute since the 19^th century.

The bill brought together a broad coalition of supporters, from individuals, to universities like Michigan State, Wayne State, University of Michigan , to local companies like ITW Drawform in Zeeland and L3 Communications Corp. in Muskegon. While on a tour with more 2^nd District Entrepreneurs and Innovators earlier this year, one of the things I heard most often was that the outdated patent system was a barrier to their recovery and growth.

The system we replaced was bogged down by frivolous lawsuits and uncertainty regarding patent owner­ship. Inventors too often spend millions of dollars defending their patents, when that money could be used adding jobs and continuing to innovate.

What’s more, for the first time, China is expected to become the world’s number one patent publisher, surpassing the U.S. and Japan in the total and basic number of patents. We could not expect America’s inventors to remain competitive with a system designed for the past. The America Invents Act ensures certainty and speeds up the process so that patents can be approved in a reasonable timeframe.

Innovation reform was the real solution we needed to level the playing field and ensure a strong, healthy economy for generations to come, as the innovators and job creators of today will be able to launch the products and businesses of tomorrow with these much needed reforms.

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