The Patent Litigation and Innovation Act (HR-2639), introduced Wednesday by Reps. Blake Farenthold,nR-Texas, and Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., would protect end users of technology from patent infringement lawsuitsnbrought by patent assertion entities, Farenthold said in a news release (http://1.usa.gov/1dnOBOo). The billnwould institute heightened pleading requirements that would disclose additional information on a lawsuit’snclaims during the litigation process, which proponents of the bill said will increase transparency when “patentntrolls” send out cease-and-desist letters. The bill would also allow for stays in the discovery process to allownmore court scrutiny. “Americans need to know they are safe from abusive litigation when they buy a product offnthe shelf and use it for its intended purpose,” Farenthold said. The bill “focuses like a laser beam on the importantnissue of frivolous lawsuits brought by patent trolls,” Consumer Electronics Association President GarynShapiro said in a statement. “This legislation will allow legitimate companies to protect their patents, while discouragingnabusive litigation.” “It’s exciting to see lawmakers proposing new solutions to help curb abuses of thenpatent system — in this case lawsuits that target consumers,” said Matt Levy, Computer and CommunicationsnIndustry Association patent counsel, in a statement. “Another very interesting idea in the bill is to treat patentncases more like securities cases in that judges would have to do a review at the end of the case to determine if thenattorneys satisfied their obligations to not file frivolous papers with the court.”
展开▼
