Government and Patent Trolls

In this remarkably pragmatic article, the author is urging that the Senate pass legislation to prevent patent trolling. He cites the main reason for doing so as an impediment to innovation. Last year, the House was able to pass legislation that would require patent trolls to offer more details about the significance of their lawsuits as well as fee -shifting measures, which allow for recuperation of fees should a party win a frivolous lawsuit. Provisions like these would definitely reduce the power of patent trolls, who thrive on low-quality, expansive patents to strong-arm companies into complying with their settlements.

The Obama Administration has put patent trolling legislation as one of its top priorities in order to encourage innovation and reduce the impact that patent trolls have in our economy. A glaring statistic from the article that stood out to me was that $29 billion dollars in legal fees were spent on defending companies against patent trolls. Patent trolling has also been targeting smaller and mid-sized companies, many of which don't have the resources necessary to fight these trolls. Many of these companies decide to settle rather than declare bankruptcy as means to protect themselves and their business. However, this is the sort of action that should be stopped if a bill is signed into law. As the article stated, many of the patents that are being used include online shopping carts on e-commerce websites, WiFi technology in establishments, and shipment tracking technology. The Innovation Act, as the bill is being called, is coming at a much needed time. There is bipartisanship against patent trolling and we need to reduce the power as a society against these leeches who simply litigate and prevent companies from reaching their full potential
From: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-j-black/senate-needs-to-stop-patent-trolls_b_4696466.html