Linda Sánchez Applauds President Obama Signing the “America Invents Act” (Sept 16 2011)

Washington, DC –Congresswoman Linda T. Sánchez (CA-39) today applauded President Obama for signing into law the "America Invents Act." This bipartisan legislation paves the way to modernize the United Sates patent system and spark new innovation.

"I am thrilled this day is here and President Obama has signed this long overdue bill into law. Since I came to Congress almost a decade ago, we have been working on substantive patent reform," said Congresswoman Sánchez, member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. "The America Invents Actwill help grow jobs and continue America's leadership in the field of innovation. The America Invents Act ispatent reform that works for American inventors and businesses and allows the U.S. to continue to out-innovate our global competitors."

The "America Invents Act" is the first major patent reform in over 60 years. The law will allow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) to meet the needs of American inventors, manufacturers and businesses by granting the PTO the ability to set fees independently of Congress. In addition to several changes to improve patent quality, the legislation also streamlines the patent examination process to better meet the need of inventors.

The American Invents Act passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 304 to 117 in June and passed the Senate by a vote of 89-9 last week.

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