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PILMA—Patent Reform

PILMA Resolution on Patent Reform (or download the pdf)

RESOLUTION OF THE TRUSTEES ON S.23 – THE PATENT REFORM ACT OF 2011

WHEREAS, the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association commits in its mission statement to “address issues of mutual interest and concern to the industry, its workers and all Americans, including: access to medicines and affordability of medicines; funding of innovative research and future cures; and maintaining a strong U.S. industry”; and

WHEREAS, the pace of innovation – particularly in the pharmaceutical sector – has accelerated and the global economy has grown more complex, while the U.S. patent system has stood still, hampering investment and job creation; and

WHEREAS, companies and unions in the pharmaceutical industry have opposed previous legislative attempts to reform the patent system because they contained provisions that would have weakened protections against infringement – stifling innovation and putting American jobs at risk; and

WHEREAS, S.23, the Patent Reform Act of 2011, provides a framework for simplifying the patent process without undermining the effectiveness of our intellectual property protections or easing the way for foreign infringement upon the rights of U.S. inventors and innovators; and

WHEREAS, S.23, the Patent Reform Act of 2011, as passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee presents Congress with the first opportunity in many years to establish a renewed patent system that will unlock the innovation that supports jobs while ensuring American competitiveness for decades to come; therefore

BE IT RESOLVED, that the trade union and company trustees of the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-
Management Association find that passage of S.23, the Patent Reform Act of 2011, as passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee, is in the mutual interest and concern of the pharmaceutical industry, its workers and all Americans; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the trade union and company trustees of the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association urge Members of Congress to co-sponsor and support S.23, the Patent Reform Act of 2011, as passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the trade union and company trustees of the Pharmaceutical Industry Labor-Management Association urge individual member companies, unions and allied organizations to call on Congress to pass S.23, the Patent Reform Act of 2011, as passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this resolution will be forwarded to all Members of the United States Congress, as well as to the President of the United States.