Congress Rightly Takes Aim at Patent Trolls
Only two years after passage of the America Invents Act — then hailed the most significant reform to the patent system since the 1950s— the United States Congress is once again tackling abusive patent litigation.
In response to an avalanche of calls for legislative action, including a public campaign on the issue by President Obama, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte has introduced the Innovation Act.
Goodlatte's proposal seeks to curb abusive legal maneuvering by Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) — commonly referred to as patent trolls — which produce no goods or services but acquire and seek to enforce patent rights.
Many legislators are convinced that the patent system is being gamed by rent-seeking trolls, both because the costs of such litigation have exploded (from $7 billion in 2005 to $29 billion in 2011, according to one study), and because PAEs have begun aggressively targeting small business end-users of everyday products.
Only two years after passage of the America Invents Act — then hailed the most significant reform to the patent system since the 1950s— the United States Congress is once again tackling abusive patent litigation.
In response to an avalanche of calls for legislative action, including a public campaign on the issue by President Obama, House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte has introduced the Innovation Act.
Goodlatte's proposal seeks to curb abusive legal maneuvering by Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) — commonly referred to as patent trolls — which produce no goods or services but acquire and seek to enforce patent rights.
Many legislators are convinced that the patent system is being gamed by rent-seeking trolls, both because the costs of such litigation have exploded (from $7 billion in 2005 to $29 billion in 2011, according to one study), and because PAEs have begun aggressively targeting small business end-users of everyday products.
This piece originally appeared in Washington Examiner
This piece originally appeared in Washington Examiner