Apple behind new patent reform bill

Apple is one of several companies adding their support to the Patent Reform Act of 2007 which Macworld describes as "A bipartisan bill currently under consideration in the U.S. Congress, the proposed legislation calls for some fundamental changes to the way that patents are granted and the way they’re litigated in U.S. courts."

Apple joins a blue chip list of technology companies including Amazon.com, Autodesk, Cisco Systems, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Palm and Visa in the Coalition for Patent Fairness. Sponsors include Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Representatives Howard Berman (D-CA) and Lamar Smith (R-TX).