The following statement is attributed to Kate Tummarello, Executive Director of Engine, regarding today’s introduction of the Restoring the America Invents Act:
Statement:
“Engine is proud to support the Restoring the America Invents Act, introduced today by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.). This bill would promote patent quality, help stem abusive patent assertion, and repair certain tools startups can and have used to challenge invalid patents. It also reflects the value of high-quality U.S. patents to promote innovation and embodies the balance needed to ensure that low-quality, invalid patents are not so easily weaponized against domestic innovators and small businesses.”
Background:
The Restoring the America Invents Act recognizes the need for high-quality U.S. patents that can promote innovation and seeks to prevent low-quality patents from standing in the way of the nation’s startups and small businesses. This bill builds on the success of the 2011 Leahy-Smith America Invents Act—which Congress passed by overwhelming majority, after almost a decade of careful consideration—to restore review procedures at the patent office that are more efficient and affordable than clearing out invalid patents in court. Startups cannot afford to spend substantial time and money on patent litigation, so when the AIA established inter partes review (IPR) and post-grant review (PGR) proceedings it offered startups a more viable way to defend themselves against low-quality patents that should not have issued in the first place. These proceedings have helped U.S. startups and innovators avoid abusive patent assertion, and have contributed to economic growth and job creation.
Despite the positives, recent changes at the patent office have cabined access to these review proceedings, allowing patent assertion entities (or so-called “patent trolls”) to file more lawsuits asserting low-quality patents while avoiding questions about validity. The Restoring the America Invents Act would take several steps to revive these proceedings including limiting the patent office’s ability to ignore meritorious patent challenges on procedural grounds, ensuring transparency when political appointees are involved in deciding patent validity, encouraging courts to stay duplicative litigation, and restoring balance in access to judicial review. When Congress created IPR and PGR, it put a critical defense within reach for startups and small tech companies, and today’s bill promises to level the playing field for startups targeted in abusive litigation so they can focus on what they do best—innovating.
