The following is a verbatim statement from the Coalition for Patent Fairness supporting the "Patent Abuse Reduction Act of 2013", an anti-patent troll piece of legislation. And I'm looking for opinions on this one so feel free to leave a comment. Photo Credit: Morguefiles
The Coalition for Patent Fairness (CPF) thanks Senator Cornyn for his leadership in confronting the problem of abusive patent litigation through the introduction of the "Patent Abuse Reduction Act of 2013." This legislation represents an important step forward in improving the patent system in such a way that allows America's innovative industries to flourish.
Patent assertion entities (or patent trolls), which prey on companies to profit off of their innovation, cost the American economy more than $29 billion in 2011 alone - and this estimate does not even begin to measure the indirect costs of lost innovation. It is likely that this figure will only increase as patent trolls set their sights on a growing range of industries, as has happened in recent months.
That's why it is imperative that members of Congress join Senator Cornyn in updating the patent system with common-sense reform before patent trolls can do more damage to America's economy. By addressing important patent litigation problems through heightened pleading standards, early claim interpretation, and discovery cost-sharing, Senator Cornyn has injected some important issues into the current debate. These items would help to avert the threat of abusive patent litigation, by providing a more fair and balanced litigation process in patent cases.
The Coalition for Patent Fairness has long advocated for reforms that will thwart abuses of the patent system, and Senator Cornyn's legislation will help advance that effort. We look forward to working with Senator Cornyn and his fellow Senate Judiciary Committee members to improve the patent system through patent litigation reform legislation this year.
- Definition of a Patent Troll
- No Pot of Gold With Patent Trolls
- For more information, visit http://www.patentfairness.org
- Take A Look At the Proposed Legislation - Patent Abuse Reduction Act of 2013
This legislation, as stated, may do little to solve the problem of “stifling” innovation and creation. Those “trolls” referred to, are just opportunistic resource managers who have managed to monetize what in many cases would have been little used or dead in the water patents. They do this by forcing others to negotiate deals and pay royalties which might have gone unnoticed if patent raiders, even innocent ones who just want to invent something, hadn’t become part of organized attempts to find and force patent-users (abusers) to pay for patent usage.
Another way might be a “patent licensing” umbrella exchange in which an inventor/product developer/manufacturer could pay a fee to an exchange, much like the royalties paid to music owners, who get paid their fees for airplay of music through an exchange which receives payment from thousands of radio and TV stations, and others, and accounts for and remits to artists. Such exchange(s) could be set jup/licensed by USPTO, or independently structured to “trade” packages of related patents, or offer types of royalty/licensiing structures most suited to patent transparency so that innovation and design are NOT stifled.
Question. Would China, Russia nd all the others have spent the energy to hack corporaste secrets, including patents, if such information were readily availalbe for licensing at reasonable cost? Patents are valuable assets to be sure, but utility and profits are maximized in a transparent marketplace, where vital information is freely traded at competitive prices to ensure that a free marketplace continues to function. Obviously some “legacy” patents and/or “franchise” patents wouldn’t be offered or “exchange-marketed”.
But if patent history proves anything, it is that too much “information secracy” is not only bad for the owner, but inevitably allows inventors to find workarounds or even entirely new (and patentable) ways of doing things.