Letter to U.S. House supporting the Innovation Act
December 3, 2013
The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker
United States House of Representatives
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Minority Leader
United States House of Representatives
Dear Speaker Boehner and Minority Leader Pelosi:
The broad-ranging group of undersigned industries and main street American businesses, responsible for tens of millions of U.S. jobs and hundreds of billions of dollars in economic activity, support passage of the Innovation Act of 2013 (H.R. 3309). We believe this legislation aims to address the widespread abuses of the legal system by certain patent assertion entities, commonly referred to as patent trolls.
During this time of economic need, we believe enactment of H.R. 3309 is integral to curbing frivolous and costly patent litigation that currently hinders our ability to innovate, create jobs and promote positive economic growth. Such frivolous lawsuits by patent trolls are an expensive distraction for many diverse, mainstream American industries, and the staggering growth of patent troll activity in recent years has caused our businesses to receive thousands of threatening demand letters and forced more than 7,000 lawsuits (a 400% increase since 2006), costing the U.S. economy more than $80 billion in 2011 alone.
Simply, patent trolls do not innovate, create jobs or promote economic growth. Our businesses do.
To make clear, patent trolls no longer only threaten large technology companies. In 2012, patent trolls filed more lawsuits against small and medium-sized non-tech businesses than against tech companies. The many targets of this abuse, ranging from food providers, retail stores and media companies to financial institutions, hotels, gaming entertainment companies and other industries that drive the U.S. economy, have been left with no choice but to defend themselves through inefficient and burdensome processes, rarely avoiding costly litigation. We believe American businesses must be able to defend against these consequential attacks more efficiently and less expensively.
While we recognize there may be no single solution that addresses all complexities surrounding our nation’s patent process, but one thing is clear: The Innovation Act of 2013 has significant bipartisan support on Capitol Hill and throughout many sectors, small and large, of the American business community. This broad support and willingness to work together is a true testament to its importance and we urge House passage of H.R. 3309.
Sincerely:
Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
American Association of Advertising Agencies
American Gaming Association
American Hotel & Lodging Association
Coalition for Patent Fairness
Competitive Carriers Association
Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America
International Franchise Association
MPA – The Association of Magazine Media
National Association of Broadcasters
National Restaurant Association
Newspaper Association of America
Online Publishers Association
Overstock.com, Inc.
Printing Industries of America
The R Street Institute
U.S. Travel Association
CC: The Honorable Eric Cantor
The Honorable Steny Hoyer
The Honorable Kevin McCarthy
The Honorable Jim Clyburn
The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
The Honorable John Conyers
The Honorable John Kline
The Honorable George Miller
The Honorable Fred Upton
The Honorable Henry Waxman
The Honorable Jeb Hensarling
The Honorable Maxine Waters
The Honorable Sam Graves
The Honorable Nydia Velazquez
The Honorable Bill Shuster
The Honorable Nick Rahall
The Honorable Dave Camp
The Honorable Sandy Levin