Goodlatte Sees Momentum Building For 'Significant Patent Reform' to Address Trolls

摘要

It is less than two years after the enactment of what Rep. Robert W. Goodlatte (R-Va.) called the "most significant reform to the patent system in my lifetime," and Congress already seems to be embarking on another extensive round of patent reform-this time to curb abusive behavior by patent assertion entities. Goodlatte, speaking June 4 at a conference hosted by the Software and Information Industry Association in Washington, D.C., said that many people-himself included-wanted the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act to include provisions that would disincentivize the types of litigation strategies that PAEs-also known as "trolls"- rely on. Other parties, Goodlatte said, "were resistant to the idea of litigation reform." Given that negotiations over the AIA dragged on for nearly seven years, the decision was made to not delay overall patent reform based on a lack of consensus on PAEs, Goodlatte said. Although Goodlatte declined to "point fingers" at who was responsible for the AIA's failure to address abusive litigation, he did say that the time was now ripe to act.