Patent Litigation Reform

Congress has shown significant interest in altering the current patent system in response to concerns about entities that engage in patent litigation tactics that have been criticized as abusive or deceptive. Many congressional hearings on the topic of patent litigation abuse have been held in the 114th and 113th Congresses, and several legislative proposals have been introduced; one bill in the 113th Congress, H.R. 3309, the Innovation Act, was passed by the House in December 2013. In June 2015, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Innovation Act (H.R. 9) by a vote of 24 to 8, and the Senate Judiciary Committee passed the PATENT Act (S. 1137) by a vote of 16 to 4; both bills are awaiting floor action. This book describes how the major provisions of current patent litigation reform legislation, with a particular focus on these two bills that have seen the most legislative activity, would change existing patent law to address the perceived problems in the patent litigation system.