On Monday, Rep. Goodlatte (R-VA) released a new discussion draft of a patent reform bill. We’ve been looking through it, and overall this is a strong draft.
The draft has litigation reforms that increase pleading requirements and lower discovery costs for patent cases. It has end user protections and strong disclosureOne of the primary objectives of the patent system. In return for the government-granted right to exclude that is embodied in the patent, the inventor must disclose to the public through his patent the invention for which protection is sought. Inventors unwilling to disclose their invention to the public may instead opt for trade secret protection. requirements that should prevent anyone from hiding behind layers of shell companies.
We’re pleased that Chairman Goodlatte continues to focus on expanding covered business method review, although there are some language details to work through to make sure the draft actually meets its objectives.
This draft represents huge progress and it bodes well for providing a solid foundation for strong new patent reform legislation this year.