US House committee to review ITC patent cases

A committee at the US House of Representatives will hold a hearing to examine patent litigation at the International Trade Commission (ITC).

The Courts, Intellectual Property and Internet Subcommittee will review how patents are handled by the ITC, determine if the current arrangements are fair to litigants and the US economy, and ensure that the ITC “complements” the work of US district courts.

Bob Goodlatte, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said: “Recent alarming statistics indicate that patent assertion entities, commonly referred to as ‘patent trolls’, have used the ITC to exploit our patent laws.

“There are certain steps that the ITC can take to correct these problems and the committee looks forward to a thorough examination of these potential patent litigation reform solutions.”

Darrell Issa, chair of the subcommittee holding the hearing, said: “In recent years the ITC has been co-opted as a forum to assert weak or poorly issued patents against US businesses.

“We look forward to hearing from the witnesses on how we can reform this process to avoid unnecessary and costly litigation.”

The hearing, which will be broadcast live, will take place at 10.00 EST (15.00 BST).