SIIA today commended Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) for introducing The Patent Abuse Reduction Act, and for his leadership on efforts to curtail patent troll activity. The bill, which is one of a growing number of legislative efforts aimed at attacking the problem of abusive patent litigation, calls for several steps that SIIA supports, including: a heightened pleading requirement for plaintiffs; increased transparency for determining the parties that are actually behind a lawsuit, and; requirements that parties pay for any discovery that is beyond “core” materials.
The economic harm being caused by patent trolls is receiving increased attention in Congress, and we commend Senator Cornyn for his leadership on this issue. We applaud his introduction of strong thoughtful legislation that would implement several needed patent litigation reforms. It is a crucial step toward an effective legislative response to the plague of patent trolls damaging American innovation and our economy. As we seek to enact effective, comprehensive patent troll reform legislation this year, we look forward to working closely with Senator Cornyn, the leadership and members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees and other stakeholders.
Ken Wasch is President of SIIA. Follow the SIIA Software team on twitter at @SIIASoftware.