Houses passes patent reform bill

Rick Merritt, EETimes
6/23/2011 7:57 PM EDT

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The U.S. House of Representatives passed a patent reform bill by a vote of 304-117, the last major hurdle in revamping the U.S. patent system.

The final bill still needs to be reconciled with an earlier version passed by the Senate in March. President Obama has signaled he will sign the resulting bill into law.