Facebook and Google team up to demand patent reform
A group of technology companies including Google and Facebook have joined forces to demand that US legislators reform the patent system.
The group, operating under the name United for Patent Reform (UPR), also includes technology companies Adobe and Dell, as well as e-commerce site Amazon and retail store Macy’s. It was launched yesterday (January 15).
In a letter sent by the group to Congressman Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House of Representatives judiciary committee, and Senator Patrick Leahy, who has led efforts to reform the US patent system, the group said that certain patent assertion entities, which they describe as “patent trolls”, are one of the biggest concerns for technology and retail companies.
The letter said: “Businesses large and small across many industries continue to be forced to divert scarce resources to fighting frivolous lawsuits and overly broad claims made by PAEs. This must change.
“Despite the passage of the America Invents Act and several recent positive rulings from the Supreme Court, abuse of our patent system continues unabated,” it added.
UPR has also made seven demands that it thinks will address the alleged problem. Among the suggestions made by the group are that demand letters sent by patent holders should be “truthful” and not “vague and deceptive”.
The group has also said that patent holders should explain to a judge at the beginning of the case what a patent means, so that the judge can decide early on if the lawsuit should proceed.
UPR is also requesting that the law is changed so that PAEs are forced to pay the defendant’s attorney fees should they lose a patent infringement case.
Attempts to reform the patent system stalled last year. In May, the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act, which was proposed by Leahy and Senator Mike Lee, broke down after groups representing US academic institutions publicly opposed the legislation.
A letter sent from the Association of American Universities, which represents academic institutions such as Yale, Brown and Cornell, said it had “ serious concerns with the direction of patent legislation” because “many of the provisions assume that every patent holder is a patent troll”.
But last month an aide for Goodlatte said that “patent reform remains a top priority” and that Congress is looking to “get patent reform enacted as quickly as possible”.
