A primer on patents: who’s getting them, where and how long it’s taking
Legislation to limit the ability of “patent trolls” – individuals or companies who own patents they don’t use and sue inventors for infringing upon them – is moving through Congress right now. In October, the House of Representatives passed the Innovation Act, which aimed to stem the tide of frivolous patent lawsuits. Several parallel bills have been proposed in the Senate. Just this week, the non-profit policy advocacy organization, R Street, sent a letter to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee urging them to take action.
“The targets of these ‘patent trolls’ are not just big technology companies,” the letter from R Street to the Senate said. “Rather, most troll lawsuits are brought against non-tech companies. These victims are often main street businesses such as restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, banks and others that don’t invent or manufacture anything, but are seen as easy targets by patent trolls.”
