TLDR: Various industries are making an aggressive push to get patent reform across the finish line in Washington as senators haggle over the details of the legislation.
Patent trolls are the non-practicing entities that purchase large amounts of patents for the main purpose of either suing people (often entrepreneurs) for infringement or shaking out cash settlements by using legal scare tactics. These groups have become a serious and growing problem for many small businesses and lawmakers in Washington have finally taken notice with both houses of Congress pursuing legislation to curtail abusive patent suits. Indeed, the House of Representatives already passed its Innovation Act (H.R. 3309) and the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to mark up its own legislation this week. Both Republicans and Democrats generally agree that more serious patent reform is needed to replace the largely pointless America Invents Act passed in 2011. However, there are a few areas where both parties seem to disagree such as “fee shifting” which would cause the losing party in a patent case to have to pay the legal expenses of the winning party, e.g. a patent troll having to reimburse a small business owner for a frivolous patent suit. This could help make it easier for more entrepreneurs to challenge the claims of patent trolls in court. The Hill expands, “Several lobbyists said consensus on the bill — between both lawmakers and the various industries involved — is proving difficult, and the markup could be delayed. “Talks are on life support because the principal negotiators seem to be miles apart,” said a lobbyist for a software company, who asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations. “The bill is in danger of not moving forward; a lot of staff on both sides has reached the limit on the amount they can take.” Lawmakers have come up with several drafts of how to deal with fee shifting, each of which has been floated from Capitol Hill to K Street, in hopes of garnering support from the various industries that have a stake in the bill, according to people involved in the talks. “There is a sense of frustration with the fee-shifting issue,” the lobbyist, who has been involved with the negotiations, said. “That frustration has led to an impasse.” With Congress heading off for a two-week recess on Friday, the window for action is narrowing. With midterm election politics set to intensify this summer, action on the bill could get tricky. Tech companies and their allied groups are pushing hard for strong patent reform measures that cut abuse of the patent litigation system and increase transparency. On Monday, the Main Street Patent Coalition — which includes the National Retail Federation, the Application Developers Alliance, the National Restaurant Association and other tech and retail trade groups — held a briefing on the Hill to push for patent reform…”
