Given the Congressional legislative calendar, it now appears certain the issue of patent reform will not be resolved during the 110th Congress.

The members of the Coalition for 21st Century Patent Reform continue to support a fair and balanced approach to this important issue. Our Coalition consists of about 50 companies from across the economic spectrum. We invest tens of billions of dollars annually in research and development activities that result in innovative products, made by American workers, that improve and enhance the lives of people.

The Coalition has supported positions on patent reform which we felt represented a fair and balanced way to improve our patent system. These positions, outlined in a wrap-up of where things stand at the end of the 110th Congress, would foster innovation and employment in the United States, avoid diminishing the value of valid patents, and encourage our trading partners to develop and enforce laws protecting intellectual property.

We pledge to continue working with Senators and Members of Congress — as well as other companies, inventors and institutions involved in research — to develop a consensus patent reform bill that will benefit all inventors and all segments of our economy.