On January 15, 2015, many of the United States' largest corporations formed a lobbying coalition, known as United for Patent Reform, to pursue patent reform legislation. The Coalition consists of large tech businesses including Google, Facebook, and Adobe, as well as retailers such as Macy's, JCPenney, the National Association of Realtors, participants from the hotel and restaurant industry, and telecom companies such as Verizon.
United for Patent Reform advocates for legislation that would make it tougher and riskier to sue companies for infringing on a patent by seeking legislation that provides for fee shifting (loser pays pay legal fees), heightened pleading and discovery standards (which will make it more difficult to file frivolous lawsuits) and demand letter reforms ( requiring those sending demand letters to be more specific about their claims of infringement). One of the articles that we re-publish this week cautions that "[w]hile well intentioned, their efforts would actually make it more difficult for inventors, researchers, universities and job-creating companies to take legal action against those who steal their ideas by violating their patents." C.Boyden Gray (former White House Counsel for President George H.W. Bush and former U.S. ambassador to the European Union) writes: "The Patent Reform Act, if enacted, would establish highly unreasonable standards that these patent holders would be forced to meet in order to shield themselves and their work from theft. By restricting access to the justice system, which this sweeping overhaul would regrettably but undeniably do, the U.S. Congress would be in direct contradiction to the very mandate laid out for them in the U.S. Constitution." Property Rights Must Be Secured Before Patent Reform Is Law.
In a letter to Congress signed by 40 law professors and economists, they express their "deep concerns with the many flawed, unreliable, or incomplete studies about the American patent system that have been provided to members of Congress." They caution: "That these proposed changes to the patent system have not been supported by rigorous studies is an understatement. We are very concerned that reliance on flawed data will lead to legislation that goes well beyond what is needed to curb abusive litigation practices, causing unintended negative consequences for inventors, small businesses, and emerging entrepreneurs." Professor-to-Professor: You Are Wrong about Patent Reform.
Opposition to Republican Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte's bill to rein in law suits is also full of high-powered advocates. They range from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, to venture capitalists and tech startups that say patents are the key to American innovation and deserve every possible protection. "When Democrats Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, Chris Coons of Delaware and Mazie K. Hirono of Hawaii introduced a bill to rival Goodlatte's this month, they took pains to outline the support it commands, releasing statements from the Biotechnology Industry Organization, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the Medical Device Manufacturers Association and the Innovation Alliance, a coalition that includes investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald and semi-conductor maker Qualcomm. The Democrats' bill focuses on improving patent quality as a way of reducing litigation, instead of giving defendants new rights in court." Patent Overhaul Lobbyists Battle It Out.
Undoubtedly, we will hear more in the coming months as Congress assesses the need for patent litigation reform.
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