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PublishedMay 2, 2014

Roundup of This Week’s Patent News: May 2 Edition

Happy Friday!  Lots of news this week.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued two unanimous opinions overturning the Federal Circuit, Highmark and Octane Fitness, recognizing the importance of fee-shifting in curbing abusive litigation.  This week we also reported on district court decisions against Intellectual Ventures, MPHJ, and Rockstar.  This action in the courts truly demonstrates the need for patent reform in the Senate.

The Senate’s markup scheduled for yesterday was delayed again, and the Manager’s amendment has not yet been released, but progress is still happening behind the scenes.  Senator Leahy said that he’s been working with other Judiciary members and addressing stakeholder comments, and that he is “encouraged by the progress that has been made over the recess.”  Some of the comments may have been calls for “balance” from universities and the Innovation Alliance, although much of that has been addressed.  And there are a lot of voices calling for reform.  On Wednesday, nearly 400 companies and organizations sent a letter supporting the Senate’s actions on patent reform.

Matt Levy also released a few “Well, That Explains It….” comic strips that show how easily the arguments of anti-reform advocates are undermined: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

Did we miss something?  Questions or suggestions?  Feel free to leave a comment below, mention us on Twitter (@PatentProgress), or email us: patentprogress[AT]ccianet[DOT]org

Ali Sternburg

, CCIA

Ali Sternburg is Vice President, Information Policy at the Computer & Communications Industry Association, where she focuses on intermediary liability, copyright, and other areas of intellectual property. Ali joined CCIA during law school in 2011, and previously served as Senior Policy Counsel, Policy Counsel, and Legal Fellow. She is also an Inaugural Fellow at the Internet Law & Policy Foundry.

She received her J.D. in 2012 from American University Washington College of Law, where she was a Student Attorney in the Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic, President of the Intellectual Property Law Society, Senior Symposium Chair and Senior Marketing Manager for the Intellectual Property Brief, and a Dean’s Fellow at the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property.

She graduated from Harvard College in 2009 where she studied Government and Music, wrote her senior honors thesis on “Theoretical and Legal Views on U.S. Government Involvement in Musical Creativity Online,” and interned at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School.

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