Law Professors and Former Government Officials Express Support for Section 101 Reform

On July 30th, 2019, twenty-four law professors and former government officials submitted a letter to Congress detailing the misstatements of patent law and misleading rhetoric in a letter from the ACLU that was sent to Congress in response to the proposed Section 101 reform by Senate Judiciary IP Subcommittee Chairman Tillis and Ranking Member Coons.

The letter expresses support for Section 101 reform and emphasizes that Congress’ deliberations should be based on accurate statements of the law and the real-world performance of the U.S. patent system.

“As law professors, former government officials, and scholars, we write to express our support for the congressional effort at reforming patent eligibility doctrine. As Congress considers legislation to bring balance back to the patent system in promoting the high-tech and biopharmaceutical inventions that drive the U.S. innovation economy, it is imperative that its deliberations are based on accurate statements of the law and of the real-world performance of the U.S. patent system.

We are deeply concerned about misapprehensions of law and misleading rhetoric in a recent letter to Congress submitted by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other medical and policy organizations that oppose this legislative reform effort. Their claim, for instance, that the “draft legislation if enacted would authorize patenting products and laws of nature, abstract ideas, and other general fields of knowledge” is a profoundly mistaken and inaccurate statement. Rather, the proposed amendments preclude “implicit or judicially created exceptions to subject matter eligibility,” and do not eliminate constitutional and statutory bars to patenting laws of nature, abstract ideas, and general fields of knowledge.”