WASHINGTON (December 21, 2022) — Congressional appropriators recently unveiled their $1.7 trillion omnibus funding package, which is likely to face a vote by the end of this week. Frank Cullen, executive director of the Council for Innovation Promotion, released the following statement on the package:
“C4IP is pleased that pro-IP provisions were included in the final 2023 Omnibus Appropriations bill, including the Unleashing American Innovators Act, the INFORM Act, and essential funding for the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
“We are also pleased that neither the Patent Coordination and Improvement Act of 2022 (S. 4430) nor the Pride in Patent Ownership Act (S. 2774) were included in the omnibus spending package.
“As C4IP outlined in a recent letter to lawmakers, the push to include S. 4430 in this end-of-year package was premature — as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the Food and Drug Administration are currently soliciting feedback from the public on ways to improve transparency between the agencies — and based on misleading and inaccurate data. The legislation would have subjected USPTO and the FDA to onerous and unnecessary hurdles and we’re glad to see it excluded from this year’s spending bill.
“In a similar vein, S. 2774 would have introduced more red tape into America’s world-class patent system and inadvertently invited infringers to intentionally steal patents without due punishment. Further, S. 2774 did not receive a standard committee markup, and lawmakers have not had adequate opportunity to amend the bill.
“C4IP commends lawmakers for preserving America’s strong IP protections in the omnibus.”
About Council for Innovation Promotion
The Council for Innovation Promotion is a bipartisan coalition dedicated to promoting strong and effective intellectual property rights that drive innovation, boost economic competitiveness, and improve lives everywhere.