Congress has been working on a major overhaul of patent law, but it's not finished. A Senate bill received committee approval in the spring, but the legislation still hasn't come up for a vote in the full chamber.

Congressional Quarterly reported in October that the Obama administration was negotiating with members of Congress to finalize details of the legislation. The administration wants to give the Patent and Trademark Office new rulemaking authority and the authority to set fees, according to the report.

Because the legislation is pending, we rate this promise In the Works.