• Home
• About Amy
• Serving Minnesotans
• About Minnesota
• Issues/ Legislation
• Media Center
• Contact Amy
• FAQ

News Releases

Klobuchar: America Invents Act Will Help Minnesota Businesses Compete in Global Economy

During Senate oversight hearing, Klobuchar highlights how bipartisan legislation she cosponsored and passed last year modernizes nation’s outdated patent laws, cuts red tape for businesses, and reduces delays

June 20, 2012

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar today said that the America Invents Act will help Minnesota businesses compete in the global economy. During a Senate oversight hearing of the new law, Klobuchar highlighted how the bipartisan legislation she cosponsored and passed into law last year modernizes the nation’s outdated patent laws, cuts red tape for businesses, and reduces delays in the patent process. Klobuchar serves on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for overseeing U.S. patent laws.

“From the post-it note to the pop-up toaster, Minnesota has always been a leader in innovation, and our businesses rely on patents to grow their companies and create jobs,”Klobuchar said. “This bill helps ensure that our patent system rewards the innovation of the 21st century and helps maintain our competitive edge in the world economy.”

The Commerce Department estimates that up to 75% of economic growth in the United States since World War II is due to technological innovation – innovation made possible by the patent system.

The America Invents Act includes key reforms to increase speed and certainty in the application process, enhance the quality of patents, and help the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office be more responsive to innovators. Before last year, U.S. patent laws hadn’t been overhauled since 1952, which helped lead to a backlog of over 700,000 patent applications – potentially delaying groundbreaking innovations from coming to the market.

Klobuchar is a leader in Congress on promoting innovation and serves as chair of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion.  Klobuchar has introduced the bipartisan Innovate America Act with Senator Scott Brown (R-MA), legislation that would cut red tape to help businesses utilize research and development for new products, target successful education programs, and promote U.S. exports in new markets to strengthen America’s ability to innovate and compete in the global economy.

###