R Street applauds House passage of the Innovation Act
WASHINGTON (Dec. 5, 2013) – The R Street Institute welcomed today’s 325-91 vote by the U.S. House to approve H.R. 3309, the Innovation Act.
Sponsored by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the bill marks an important step toward cracking down on frivolous patent litigation that impedes innovation and entrepreneurship. Among its significant provisions, it shifts fees to losers of patent suits; adopts pleading standards that appropriately identify alleged infringements; improves transparency about who owns disputed patents; and reduces abuse of the discovery process.
“The Innovation Act isn’t a panacea for the problem of so-called ‘patent trolls,’ and in some ways doesn’t go as far as we’d like,” R Street Policy Analyst Zach Graves said. “But it offers the most comprehensive package of any proposal thus far, including a set of litigation reforms vital to undermining the patent troll business model. Overall, this is a big win and we will stay vigilant as the measure moves on to a more uncertain future in the Senate.”
The bill received bipartisan support, including the votes of 195 Republican members. R Street led a coalition of conservative and free-market groups that voiced support for the legislation in a letter to Congress. R Street Associate Policy Analyst Jeremy Kolassa also outlined the conservative case for patent reform in the Daily Caller.
