HP says patent reform bill "in the final stretch"

By Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Major U.S. high-tech companies, seeking relief from infringement lawsuits, are in the "final stretch" of getting a patent reform bill moving in the Senate, Hewlett-Packard Co, General Counsel Mike Holston told Reuters on Tuesday.

Reform legislation was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives on September 7 but stalled in the Senate because of stiff opposition from pharmaceutical companies and others who feared that proposed changes in the U.S. patent system would leave them vulnerable.

Drug maker Eli Lilly & Co, seed and herbicide company Monsanto Co and smaller tech companies say the bill would weaken patents that are their corporate lifeblood.

A Monday meeting of companies, industry groups and universities closely following patent reform gave the Senate bill fresh impetus, said Holston.

"We're 95 percent of the way there. We're down to four (sticking points)," Holston said in an interview, adding that Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, appeared at the meeting. "We're in the final stretch."

The bill is slated to go before the Senate in February, according to an aide to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees patent law issues.

The sticking points involve calculating damages for patent infringement, limiting venue, allowing post-grant reviews and defining "inequitable conduct," said Holston.

Under current law, damages can be calculated as the entire market value of the product. That number can be tripled when the patent infringement is found to be intentional or willful.