And now the Senate Committee on patent reform

Following the House Judiciary Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee has passed the patent reform legislation. The bills now go to their respective full chambers. On the House side, the bill is likely to remain pretty close to what the Committee reports. On the Senate side, however, the process is different. Senate rules are such that anyone can offer any amendment. So there are plenty of chances to change the bill. As the AP story (Senate Panel Approves Patent Reform Bill) notes:

The changes made by the two committees, so far, haven't satisfied many of the bill's opponents, which include pharmaceutical, biotech and manufacturing companies, as well as technology companies that rely on licensing patents, such as Qualcomm Inc.

Those opponents of the bill have already said they hope to make changes.

So there is movement, but still a long way to go.