BoenD oN SctEnNCE, TncHlNoLoGy, Ar.{D EcorvoMrc PoLrcY 50t" MnnuNG oF'Tr{E Bo¿,nu May 7-8,2009 lVesruNctoN, DC $ \ IË ti ti Ii: lrl¡\t-lol\lAt A(_ADiM\lis Advisers to tfte Natlon on Science, Englneeilng, and Mediúne National Academy ol Sciences National Academy of Engineering lnstitute of Medicine Nat¡onal Research Council April30o 2009 STEP MEMORANDUM TO: Members of the STEP Board FROM: Steve Merrill SUBJECT: 50th Meeting of the STEP Board, Washington, DC, May 7-8, 2009 To mark this STEP milestone and the advent of the Obama Administration, we have invited two senior White House advisers to join us for dinner on Thursdayo May 7 - Tom Kalilo senior adviser to OSTP Director John Holden (he played a similar key role in the Clinton White House) and Susan Crawford, special assistant to the President for science, technolory and innovation policy in the National Economic Council. Time and location: 6:30 PM.701 RestauranL 701 Pennsvlvania Avenue. NW. As background to this discussion, we have prepared a rough summary of the status of innovation-related Academy recommendations from STEP and other committees. For the President's April 27 rousing address to the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences, go to: http ://www.nationalacademies.ors/morenews/2 0090428. html. Three new initiatives and an ongoing project recently assigned to STEP are on , in Room Stn Street. N.W. Short- ønd long-term economíc ímpøcts of S&T Investments. Shortly after passage of the stimulus bilt with its $22 billion for a wide range of R&D activities, Congressman Rush Holt asked the Academy to address what that investment will buy in employment and other economic benefits. The Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPUP) has asked STEP to consult on the terms of such a study and collaborate in carrying it out. Guests to lead off this discussion are Richard Bissello PGA and COSEPUP Director, and Julia Lane. Director of NSFos Program on the Science of Science and Innovation Policy. SBIR Evøluatíon Chuck Wessner is completing a first round of evaluations of R&D agency Small Business Innovation Research Programs. This project was launched out of STEP but conducted independently. A second phase witl be done under STEP's oversight. Jacques Gansler, university of Maryland and former DoD Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technolory and Logistics, who chairs the study committee for both phases, will describe the first phase findings and future plans. 500 Fifth Street NW, Washirìgton, DC 2000'l Telephone (202) 334-1581 Fax (202) 334-1505 [email protected] o Skílled Foreígn Workers ín the U,S. The corporate offer of data and financial support for a study of workers admitted to the US under the H-18 visa program, discussed at the January meeting has been vetted with many academics and supporters and critics of the program and the Academy managemenÇ but many questions remain. A scoping meeting is planned. o Copyríght's Impact on fnnovatíon. The proposal for work on non-patent intellectual property has been narrowed to a focus on copyright policy in the digital era. Initial reactions are positive. Mike Nelson, Georgetown University visiting professoro will discuss what current and future debates the project could influence. Further, we seek your help in identiffing potential sponsors. The balance of the meeting will review progress on ongoing projects. May 1,2009 STEP MEMORANDUM TO: Members of the STEP Board FROM: Steve Merrill and Daniel Mullins SUBJECT: Status of Academy Innovation-Related Recommendations We thought it useful to review how much progress has been made on science, technology, and innovation issues by the new Administration and Congress, and in one area, the federal courts, and what issues have yet to be addressed. We include a few studies other than STEP's (e.g., the much discussed Gathering Storm report). This is no doubt incomplete on both the Academy and government sides, particularly with respect to sectors such as energy, biomedical, and IT. Rising Above the Gøthering Storm: Energizíng ønd Employing Amerícøfor ø Bríghter Economic Future (COSEPUP committee chaired by Norman AugustÍne) Recommendations: 1) Sustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research - Increase spending by l0% each year over the next 7 years, especially in the physical sciences, engineering, mathematics, and info rmation sciences. - Create in the Department of Energy anorganization like DARPA called the Advanced Research Proj ects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) NOTE: Less specific recoÍrmendations for increases in physical science and engineering research support were made in a series of STEP reports, including Trends ín Federøl Support of Research and Graduate Educøtíon, Government-Industry Partnershíps for the Development of New Technologíes, and Enhøncing Productivìly ìn the Informatíon Age. Actions (figures in $billion): Agency Function 2008 Act Stimulus Enacted (authorization) BiI 2008 NSF General 6.13 6.60 3.00 7.33 6.85 For Research 4.84 5.16 2.50 5.74 5.59 NIST For Research 0.¡f4O 0.502 0.220 0.542 0.561 Technology lnnovation .?_r9-grqn__-" 0.065 0.1 NA 0.132 0.065 DOE Off. of Science 4.04 1.60 5.20 4.27 ARPA-E 0.300 0.400 As necessary 0.015 FY 2010 Budget proposals: National S cience Foundation o $7 billion total o Increased support for graduate research fellowships. Department of Commerce (NIST) o Increases over the stimulus bill's $240 million for NIST's scientific research activities and lab equipment and $180 million for construction ofNIST facilities . $70 million for the Technology Innovation Program (the previous Congress replaced the Advanced Technology Prograr4 ATP, with TIP) Department of Energy o Increases over the stimulus bill's $1.6 billion for DOE basic science programs National Institutes of Health . $6 billion for cancer research and diagnostics, over and above the stimulus bill's $10 billion to be spent in 2009 arñ 2010. 2) Increase America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 science and mathematics education. Actions (figures in $billion): 2008 Stimulus GOMPETES Organization Function Act author. Act Approp (est) Enacted B¡II 2009 2008 author.2009 NSF Education .. ...9.,!_7... ._- 0._gg _ _-._9,!-Q___.- g_.lq ---____--g_.7_9._- Science 0.002 3) Encourage recruitment and retention of foreign talent - Improve visa processing for international students and scholars Provide a l-year visa extension to doctoral graduates of US institutions to seek employment in the US. If they are successful and pass a security screening, provide automatic work permits and expedite residence status Institute a new skills-based, preferential immigration option. In the meantime, increase the number of H-18 visas by 10,000 and ensure their availability for S&E doctoral graduates of US institutions . Action: None to date. 4) Make the research and experimentation (R&E) tax credit permanent Action: The President's FY 2010 budget proposal would make the credit permanent. II. A Pøtent System for the 27't Centuly (STEP committee chaired by Rick Levin and Mark Myers) Recommendations: 1) Preserve an open-ended, unitary, flexible patent system. 2) Reinvigorate the non-obviousness standard. 3) Institute a post-grant challenge procedure. 4) Strengthen USPTO capabilities, increase resources. 5) Shield some research uses of patented inventions from liability for infringement. 6) Modiff or remove the subjective elements of litigation (willfulness, inequitable conduct). 7) Take steps to reduce inconsistencies between US and other major patent systems (e.g. adopt first inventor to file priorit¡ eliminate best mode requirement, publish all applications). Actions: After a long slog extending over 3 Congresses there is a reasonable prospect that Congress will pass patent reform legislation during this session. As repofed by the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this month (a sign that there are more than 60 votes to invoke cloture), the Senate bill has versions of the STEP report's recoÍrmendations for o first-inventor to file priority o post-grantchallenges o higher standard for willfulness o elimination of failure to show best mode as a ground for a finding of invalidity In addition, on issues where industries have been at odds with each other such as how damages for infringement are calculated, the Senate bill strikes compromises that preserve a unitary patent system and avoid carve-outs for particular sectors. Lacking an appointee to head the Patent and Trademark Office, the administration has yet to take a position on any feature of the legislation. Other less well publicized developments relating to the STEP report: 1) William Rutledge, past president of the AIPLA, writes in the current issue of the Journal of the Patent and Trademark Society ("Reform of a Fast-Moving Target: The Development of Patent Law Since the2004 National Academies Report) : "Perhaps the most important factor in creating the current patent reform eflort is the National Academies report. That report identified reasons to pay attention to the patent systern, criteria for evaluating the patent syster4 and seven recommendations for what it called "a 2l't Century Patent System."" He then lists the 7 recommendations and in each case the evolution of the law and congressional deliberations. 2) V/ith respect to the recommendation for "more PTO resources," congressional appropriators for the last 3 years have refrained from diverting substantial shares of PTO fees to other accounts, thus enabling the hiring and training of more examiners. (Of course, as we observed, there is not necessarily a match between needs and fee receipts. The recession may be causing a serious shortfall.) 3) A series of federal court decisions, including one late last week, more or less follow the report's reasoning: o The Supreme Court's decision in K,SA Internationøl Co.