Our nation’s patent system is designed to encourage innovation and invention — and is rooted in the Constitution:
The Congress shall have Power … To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.
In recent years, however, “there has been an explosion of abusive patent litigation designed not to reward innovation and enforce intellectual property, but to threaten companies in order to extract settlements based on questionable claims,” according to the Obama Administration. Such firms are known as Patent Assertion Entities (PAEs) or “patent trolls.” And defendants and licensees in these lawsuits paid out $29 billion in 2011, a 400% increase from 2005. (Source: The White House)
The Obama Administration called on Congress to take legislative action to address “patent trolls” and their litigation techniques. Here are some bills that have been introduced. Weigh in on POPVOX and tell Congress what you think should be done.
Issue Spotlight: Patent and Innovation Legislation
- HR 3309 Innovation Act: targets abusive patent litigation behavior and not specific entities with the goal of preventing individuals from taking advantage of gaps in the system to engage in litigation extortion. It does not attempt to eliminate valid patent litigation, according to the bill sponsor.
- S 866 Patent Quality Improvement Act: would “provide small technology start-ups with the opportunity to efficiently address these claims outside of the legal system, saving billions of dollars in litigation fees,” according to the bill sponsor.
- S 1013 Patent Abuse Reduction Act: would require plaintiffs to disclose the substance of their claim and reveal their identities when they file their lawsuit; allow defendants to hale into court interested parties; bring fairness to the discovery process; and shift responsibility for the cost of litigation to the losing party.
- HR 845 SHIELD Act (Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes Act): “forces patent trolls to take financial responsibility for frivolous lawsuits. If a troll brings a patent lawsuit and loses, the SHIELD Act makes sure that the troll pays all costs and attorney’s fees associated with the case,” according to the bill sponsors.
- HR 2024 End Anonymous Patents Act: “would require any sales or transfers of patents to be disclosed to the Patent and Trade Office, along with a notice of the real party in interest filing by the purchasing entity. The same disclosure requirements would apply to new patents at the time they are awarded, and for currently held patents at the next scheduled maintenance fee payment,” according to the bill sponsor.
- HR 2639 Patent Litigation and Innovation Act: would “require a heightened pleading standard in patent infringement actions, provide end users with the opportunity to stay litigation and limit unnecessarily burdensome discovery until matters related to dismissal motions, transfer of venue issues and claim construction are decided,” according to the bill sponsors.
- HR 2766 Stopping Offensive Use of Patents Act: “makes improvements to the Transitional Business Method Program by broadening the definition beyond “a financial product” to include “an enterprise” or “a product.” This change will allow the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to determine the extent of the validity of a number of patents, particularly those related to software and computers, where litigation abuse has run rampant,” according to the bill sponsors.
Please keep in mind that highlighting a bill doesn’t imply a POPVOX endorsement in any way. Rather, we’re simply trying to offer one more way to stay informed of an overwhelmingly complex legislative system.
