Arlington, Va. — Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) president/CEO Gary Shapiro wholeheartedly backed a House Judiciary Committee vote yesterday on an anti-patent troll bill.
The committee voted to support the Innovation Act of 2013, which Shapiro said will make it harder for plaintiffs to bring patent infringement suits to court.
“(Wednesday) marks progress in the fight against the patent trolls who exhort cash from innovative job creating companies. The Innovation Act of 2013 contains smart and common-sense provisions that will transform our patent system back into a mechanism to promote — not hinder — innovation,” Shapiro said.
The bill would have plaintiffs specify which patents are at issue and which products infringe on the patent. In addition, the Innovation Act will require the loser to play the winner’s legal costs if the case was not reasonably justified.
“Now we must keep up the momentum. Every day that the ‘patent troll’ issue is not addressed is another day that bad actors can abuse our patent system to extort money from legitimate companies. We urge the full House to pass this legislation immediately,” he said.
