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PublishedMay 12, 2014

States Really Want Help With Patent Trolls

This past Friday, we launched our Guide to State Patent Reform Legislation. As of this writing, 10 states have passed laws against bad faith assertions of patent infringement, another 4 legislatures have passed bills that are waiting for approval by the governor, and 12 other states have bills in the pipeline (although 2 of those are apparently stalled for this legislative session).

That’s over half the states trying to take some kind of legislative action against patent trolls.

And you may remember that a couple of months ago, 42 state attorneys general signed a letter urging Congress to take action on patent trolls. Here are those states:

US States - AG action

If we combine the two, it shows all of the states that openly support some kind of action against patent trolls:

US States - AG and leg action

That’s all but 4 states (California, Ohio, West Virginia, and Delaware) that have an attorney general urging Congress to act against patent trolls, a legislature taking action against patent trolls, or both.

That’s about as close to a national consensus as we’re going to get. Patent reform may seem controversial inside the Beltway, but nearly every state supports it.

Let your Senator know that you want strong patent reform!

Matt Levy

Previously, Matt was patent counsel at the Computer & Communications Industry Association

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