This is an important issue that I don't think has been diaried about yet, re labor's opposition to the "Patent Reform Act of 2007" (aka "Infringers Protection" act), and a call for action to support labor and oppose this legislation.
This out last Thursday in InfoWorld:
Opponents of legislation that would overhaul the U.S. patent system have enlisted new allies who may cause majority Democrats in Congress to rethink their support of the proposals.
Since late July, three labor unions -- the AFL-CIO, the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), and the United Steelworkers -- have sent letters to lawmakers saying they oppose two current patent reform bills. Patent reform opponents say they hope their alliance with organized labor, which has a long history of supporting Democrats, will stall the legislation.
Steve Elmendorf, notorious in the netroots, has been hired to pressure the unions to back off their opposition.
This is a rather arcane issue, but an important one.
More information from today's WSJ:
Patent System's Revamp Hits Wall
Globalization Fears Stall Momentum in Congress; AFL-CIO Sends a Letter
WASHINGTON -- A bipartisan effort in Congress to overhaul the patent system -- a priority for some of the nation's biggest technology companies -- is hitting resistance because of concerns the U.S. might be exposed to greater foreign competition.
Patent overhaul appeared to be on a fast track earlier this summer. But plans for a quick vote got derailed last month after the AFL-CIO entered the debate, warning that innovation -- and union-backed manufacturing jobs -- might be at risk if the changes were adopted. The union has considerable clout in the Democratic Congress and expressed concerns with provisions that would expose patents to expanded challenges and might limit damages for infringement.
(I can provide the three letters from the labor unions mentioned above, and other background docs, for anyone interested in more background.)
(Update: I have added excerpts with links to the letters in this comment below.)
The lobbyist hired to pressure labor to back off on their opposition to the bill is Steve Elmendorf, notorious in the netroots for his comments in the 2006 elections, via Wikipedia.
In January 2006, Elmendorf was criticized vehemently by some left-wing Democratic bloggers when he was quoted in a Washington Post story as saying, "The bloggers and online donors represent an important resource for the party, but they are not representative of the majority you need to win elections. The trick will be to harness their energy and their money without looking like you are a captive of the activist left." Markos Moulitsas, head of The Daily Kos blog, replied: "Here's notice, any Democrat associated with Elmendorf will be outed. The netroots can then decide for itself whether it wants to provide some of that energy and money to that candidate. There's nothing 'extreme left' with demanding Democrats act like Democrats, no matter how much these out-of-touch and self-important beltway insiders think it is."
Also in 2006, Elmendorf gave his support to U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman's independent re-election bid after Lieberman lost the Democratic primary. Elmendorf was listed on Lieberman's campaign Web site as part of the "national chapter" of "Dems for Joe".
Among the clients listed on the Elmendorf Strategies LLC website is the so-called Coalition for Patent Fairness who are the ones pushing the patent reform bill on behalf of the Goliath's of the tech industry.
Elmendorf's going to be meeting with the unions this week to try to coerce them to back off. One of the tactics he is likely to use is to threaten a loss of support for labor's priorities such as fixing the bankruptcy law.
This is a big priority of the corporatist beltway democrats. It would be the biggest change to the patent system in 50 years, and would protect the big corporations and harm the small inventor. But the patent law isn't broken, the patent office is. Here's a senate report criticizing the patent office. Yet the whole patent system could be fundamentally gone in a week and a half.
The corporatist Elmendorf Democrats are trying to push this through, and there is an odd coalition of progressive Democrats and conservative Republicans lined up against it. On Aug. 3, 65 House members sent a letter to both House Leaders urging caution and raising concerns with the bill. Dem who signed include netroots favorites Shea-Porter, Hodes, and Holt, and Progressive Caucus members Capuano, Clay, Davis, Hare, Jackson, Kaptur, Kilpatrick, Schakowsky, Solis, and Thompson.
Now labor unions have stepped up for something that is outside of their regular comfort zone, but which is a very important issue, and I think the netroots should be aware of this let them know we've got their back, and help put pressure to stop this bill, especially given the netroots growing partnership with labor.
A good friend of mine is the founder of the American Ingenuity Alliance (mentioned in the InfoWeek article), who has been working to create partnerships between labor unions and inventors, including looking at ways that they can use patent rights to support labor and human rights in other countries. I'm working through him with a group of inventors who are opposing the bill. A lot of them have invented major technologies (including the MRI, pacemaker, LCD), but despite their brilliance, most of them aren't that familiar with blogs, so I'm trying to help get the word out about this. I'm no expert in the topic, I'm just a progressive activist who happens to know a bit about blogs (long time dkos member, daily reader and occasional poster) , and I think the issue is important. So I'm hoping folks here can help spread the word and generate support for the unions (and inventors) and against the legislation.
Here's a dkos diary on the issue from last month:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
And here's some related posts on other blogs:
http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/...
http://www.blaserco.com/...
http://www.okpatents.com/...
http://ipbiz.blogspot.com/...
Please contact your Senators and Represenative and tell them to at least take caution and don't rush this bill through, and take seriously the concerns raised by labor, and by small inventors.
I will be in and out but I'll try to stick around and provide more information if anyone needs it, and I invite and encourage suggestions about how to effectively lobby and coordinate on this issue.
Update: Thanks for the reminder in the comments: Refer to HR. 1908 and S. 1145