R Street applauds committee vote on Innovation Act
Passed by a 33-5 margin, the legislation from committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., would lay out a more transparent process for patent assertion litigation to discourage frivolous and extortive lawsuits while still protecting the interests of legitimate inventors.
“While not perfect, this bill is an important first step to addressing the $29 billion problem of patent trolls,” R Street Policy Analyst Zachary Graves said. “It is the most comprehensive of the patent reform bills introduced in Congress this year, and the bipartisan support it has enjoyed means it could soon end up on President Obama’s desk.”
R Street expressed disappointment with amendments to remove the bill’s language addressing covered business method patents and weakening its “fee shifting” provisions. However, an amendment from Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., calling on the Government Accountability Office to study CBM litigation should ensure that issue remains a focus of future reforms.
