Articles About Microsoft

By Ed Flores

On December 5, the House passed H.R. 3309, also known as the Innovation Act, by a wide margin of 325-91. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it’s expected to receive limited opposition and could be signed into law by the end of the year.

Proponents of the bill included industry giants such as Google and Microsoft, but it also saw broad support from brick and mortar businesses that have felt the sting of patent trolling practices, which we’ll describe below.

On balance, we see the Innovation Act as an important step in patent reform that should effectively weed out a significant number of frivolous lawsuits, while also providing businesses an extra layer of economic protection against patent trolls.

What are Patent Trolls and How Does the Innovation Act Address Them?

“Patent Trolls,” also known as “non-practicing entities” or “patent assertion entities,” are companies set up for the sole purpose of buying patents and asserting them. They can be a positive force when they help protect small inventors by asserting their patents against larger infringing companies.

In recent years, however, patent trolling practices have grown increasingly abusive. Patent trolls will send demand letters to businesses which they accuse of violating a patent, often forcing that business to do one of two things: engage in an expensive and often lengthy round of patent litigation, or pay a licensing settlement — often times simply to avoid legal fees. In many cases, though, the business hasn’t even violated patent law.

The Innovation Act is designed to curb these abusive patent trolling practices by making it more difficult procedurally to bring a case forward. The act has many provisions, but here are the key ones we think will have the biggest impact in discouraging abusive tactics:

• Require more upfront specificity in patent lawsuits. Requires a claimant to identify the patents […]