ERIK SOFGE: INVENTORS SLAM PATENT REFORM EFFORT. “Now, after a raft of failed bills, the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved a general vote on the Patent Reform Act of 2009, or S. 515. (A similar bill, H.R. 1260, is floating around the House, but has yet to make it through committee.) And as impassioned as the opposing camps may be, their arguments are taking place largely outside of public view—yet the implications for the future of innovation in the United States may be profound. In essence, the reforms would bring elements of the U.S. system into compliance with common practices around the globe. But some of America’s most prolific inventors say the changes could seriously impair the culture of innovation that has long driven prosperity in this country.”