It has been some time since we have heard serious discussions about patent reform legislation from Congress. Sure, the Innovation Act (H.R. 9) is still pending in the House, and the Patent Act (S. 1137) is still pending in...more
Yesterday, Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE), Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced the "Support Technology and Research for Our Nation's Growth (STRONG) Patents Act of 2015." What is unique about...more
The press has been all too eager to decry the so-called "broken" U.S. patent system and the alleged "scourge" of non-practicing entities (NPEs). However, few if any articles attempt to provide an even-handed analysis of...more
12/19/2014
/ CLS Bank v Alice Corp ,
Covered Business Method Patents ,
Nautilus Inc. v. Biosig Instruments ,
Non-Practicing Entities ,
Obviousness ,
Octane Fitness v. ICON ,
Patent Litigation ,
Patent Reform ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Trolls ,
Patents ,
SCOTUS ,
Software
Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you are probably aware that mid-term elections are next Tuesday. And the issue on every voter's mind is obviously patent litigation reform. In all seriousness, even though the...more
As we have previously reported, the USPTO has been seeking feedback on the PTAB trial proceedings established by the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act. A Federal Register notice from June 27, 2014, contained a "Request for...more
U.S. Representative Lee Terry (R-NE) opened a recent subcommittee meeting by quoting Thomas Edison: "The most certain way to succeed is to try one more time." The occasion was the meeting of the House's Energy and Commerce...more
In a post from yesterday entitled "Help Improve our AIA Trial Proceedings," Michelle Lee, Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Deputy Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, announced on...more
Earlier today, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, announced that he was taking the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 (S. 1720) off the Committee's agenda. He cited...more
In This Issue:
- “Patent Trolls” in the Crosshairs – But How Will Patent Reform Legislation Impact the Rest of Us
- USPTO Guidance Takes an Expansive View of Patent-Ineligible Subject Matter
- Functional Claim...more
Both Congress and the White House have been actively pursuing patent litigation reform in an attempt to combat the perceived “patent troll” problem. Of course, any legislation will impact all patent holders, even though most...more
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary was set to consider the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 (S. 1720) earlier today during an Executive Business Meeting. Instead, the Committee again tabled the bill, this...more
On the day before the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up S. 1720 (The Patent Transparency and Improvements Act), the Innovation Alliance delivered a letter to Chairman Leahy and Ranking Member Grassley...more
In what turned out not to be an April Fools' Day joke, Senator Charles Schumer (at right) of New York participated earlier today in a Google+ Hangout sponsored by the Internet Association. According to their website, this...more
Earlier today, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary held an Executive Business Meeting in which the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act was considered, then held over for another week. Nevertheless, several members of...more
Last Thursday, Sen. McCaskill, along with Sen. Rockefeller, introduced the "Transparency in Assertion of Patents Act" (S. 2049). Of course, several other bills are currently pending in the Senate that have been introduced by...more
Earlier today, the White House provided an update on the five executive actions that it announced in June of 2013. At the time, we reported on the President's legislative recommendations and executive initiatives, as well as...more
If the mainstream media is to be believed, the patent system is now “broken.” This notion is frequently blamed on the perceived increase in so-called patent assertion entities (“PAEs”), referred to derogatorily in the press...more
It may come as no surprise, but on Tuesday, January 28, 2014, President Obama highlighted innovation and the patent system during his State of the Union address...more
On Tuesday, December 17, 2013, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary took up the issue of abusive patent litigation. In a hearing entitled "Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll...more
As we reported last week, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 3309, the Innovation Act, by on overwhelming margin. A copy of the final bill can be found here. The next step is consideration by the U.S. Senate, where on...more
The House of Representatives earlier today passed H.R. 3309, the Innovation Act, by a 325 - 91 vote. Before voting on the bill, the House spent several hours debating and voting on a number of amendments. Other than a...more
As we have previously reported, Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA), the Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary, introduced the "Innovation Act" (H.R. 3309) to curb abusive patent litigation, and conducted a hearing of his...more
There has been a flurry activity recently in both the House and Senate aimed at addressing the perceived patent-troll problem. We have recently reported on the introduction of both the "Innovation Act," from Rep. Bob...more
11/21/2013
/ America Invents Act ,
Assignments ,
Bad Faith ,
Demand Letter ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Innovation Act ,
Patent Reform ,
Patent Trial and Appeal Board ,
Patent Trolls ,
Patents ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Transparency ,
USPTO
In May of this year, the NPR podcast "Planet Money" released an episode entitled "When Patents Hit the Podcast." At that time, we reported on this podcast, and the misconceptions of the patent system that the show...more
Earlier today, the House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing to discuss the Innovation Act (H.R. 3309), a bill that was introduced last week by the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The Committee...more