Patent Bill on the Move This Week Wednesday July 18, 9:20 am ET By Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Business Writer Software Companies and Other Patent Reform Supporters May Score Victory This Week WASHINGTON (AP) -- The technology sector is advocating this week for congressional approval of patent reform legislation that is opposed by pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies. Software and other high-tech companies argue the legislation, which will be debated in the Senate on Wednesday, is critical to reducing patent litigation that can result in large financial penalties and hinder innovation. Because many high-tech products, such as Apple Inc.'s iPod, may include hundreds of patented components, industry groups say they are easy targets for patent infringement suits based on inadvertent or minor violations. Pharmaceutical and biotech companies, meanwhile, counter rely on as few as one or two patents for blockbuster drugs that can lead to $1 billion in revenue or more. They counter that the legislation before Congress would weaken the protection afforded by those patents, making it riskier to spend hundreds of millions to develop the drugs. Some technology firms that rely heavily on licensing patents, such as Qualcomm Inc., share the drug companies' concerns and oppose the House and Senate bills. San Diego-based Qualcomm licenses its wireless technology to mobile phone manufacturers. Supporters of the legislation believe the Senate and House Judiciary Committees will nevertheless approve the bills. Lobbyists on both sides expect the House panel to approve its legislation Wednesday, while the Senate may not finish until Thursday. "We're very optimistic that this is going to get done this week," Emery Simon, counsel to the Business Software Alliance, said. Members of the Alliance include tech heavies such as Microsoft Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp.