Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog : Maryland Intellectual Property Lawyer & Attorney : Brian Wm. Higgins : Serving Baltimore, Columbia, Frederick

     In its 2009 Policy Platform for Technology and Biotechnology published earlier this month, the Technology Council of Maryland (TCM) called for funding and targeted legislation for the state's technology and biotechnology industries, but also urged incentives, financing, tax credits and intellectual property legislation "that will spur the potential for making Maryland a leader in clean and green technology."  The TCM is Maryland's largest technology trade association (500+ members). 

     Does Maryland need incentives to encourage the development of clean and green technologies? If the number of clean energy patents issued to Marylanders is any indication, the answer is yes.  According to U.S. Patent Office data, there were only 11 patents issued in 2008 naming at least one Maryland resident as an inventor that disclosed "fuel cell" (down from 17 in 2007), 11 patents to Maryland inventors that disclosed "hybrid", "electric," and "vehicle" in 2008 (up from 7 in 2007), and only one patent to Maryland inventors that disclosed "wind power" in 2008 (half as many as the 2 patents issued in 2007). Although that snapshot view is far from a scientific and robust analysis, it seems that Maryland trails other states in clean technology innovation (Michigan, for example, received a total of 29 clean energy patents in the 3Q 2008 alone, and New York received 21 in 3Q 2008, according to data published by the Clean Energy Patent Growth Index).

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     During the floor debate in Congress over H.R.1908, the Patent Reform Act of 2007, on September 7, 2007, Maryland’s 6th District Representative, Roscoe G. Bartlett, a Republican, rose to criticize last-minute efforts by colleagues whom he contends pushed amendments to the proposed legislation through the House of Representatives.  Apparently, those amendments found their way into the legislation in the late evening hours the night before the full House vote (no doubt by overworked staffers). Dr. Bartlett knows a few things about patents: a scientist himself, one of only three in the House of Representatives, he is the named inventor or co-inventor on several U.S. patents, including those listed below. Of the eight Maryland Representatives in Congress, Bartlett was the only one to vote against passage of H.R.1908 (see related post here). For those interested, the amendments to H.R. 1908 may be viewed here (then scroll down to the 1:33 pm entry).

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          The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee this week unanimously voted to move patent reform legislation out of committee and onto the floor of the House of Representatives, a move that makes the Patent Reform Act of 2007 closer to becoming law.  The Senate Judiciary Committee, however, is still evaluating similar legislation and has yet to vote a similar bill out of committee.  It's anyone's guess as to when a final bill will be sent to the President for his signature.

           Those who have followed patent reform legislation will be familiar with the current Judiciary Committee bill, which would, among other things, change the US patent system from one that awards priority of invention to the first person to file a patent application for an invention, regardless of whether someone else came up with the idea first.  The Judiciary Committee's bill retains reforms that would affect the course and outcome of future patent litigation matters in the US.

• Manager's Amendment for the Patent Reform Act of 2007

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