There’s a bit of a glut of anti-innovation bills in Congress right now, ranging from the STRONGER Patents Act to Rep. Massie’s RALIA bill (which I hope to write about at a later date) and now, Rep. Rohrabacher’s H.R. 6557, the “Inventor Protection Act.”1 The bill begins with legislative findings. Unfortunately, the “findings” that…
Blog Posts
‘Freedom To Operate’ Isn’t Even Close To Free
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
There’s been an increasing usage of the term “efficient infringement” in the debate over patent reform. The basic idea is that large companies make an active choice to ignore patents and just pay for them when they lose a lawsuit. The basic idea isn’t correct. Large companies aren’t making an active choice to ignore patents—in…
SUCCESS Act Is A Good Start—But Could Be Improved
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
Last week, Rep. Comstock (R-VA), along with 7 other cosponsors, introduced H.R. 6390, the “Study of Underrepresented Classes Chasing Engineering and Science Success Act of 2018” (SUCCESS) Act. The Act recognizes the gap in innovation activity faced by women and under-represented minorities, and requires the Small Business Administration and the PTO to study the reasons…
Federal Circuit Holds Tribal Sovereign Immunity Does Not Apply In IPR
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
Today, in Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. Mylan Pharmaceuticals, the Federal Circuit held that tribal sovereign immunity does not provide a right of immunity in inter partes reviews (IPR). In an opinion by Judge Moore, writing for herself and Judges Dyk and Reyna, the Federal Circuit focused on the PTO Director’s ability to decide whether…
Open Source and Standard-Essential Patents: More Alike Than Not
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
An interesting new paper from Martin Husovec, an assistant professor at the Tilburg University, draws parallels between Open Source and standardization regimes. The paper, titled “Standardization, Open Source, and Innovation: Sketching the Effect of IPR Policies,” examines IPR policies in light of traditional standardization activities and the history of Open Source licenses. In short, the…
CCIA Submits Letter To House Small Business Committee Correcting USIJ Testimony
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
Yesterday, we submitted a letter for the record to the House Small Business Committee. This letter, written in response to testimony submitted for the Committee’s hearing entitled “Innovation Nation: How Small Businesses in the Digital Technology Industry Use Intellectual Property,” corrects significant errors and omissions in the testimony of the USIJ witness. Our letter to…
IP Witness Gives Incorrect Testimony To House Small Business Committee
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
Yesterday, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing on how small businesses use intellectual property. And, as has happened before, promoting patents—but not necessarily promoting progress—offers data that doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Chris Israel is an IP lobbyist for American Continental Group, with clients including Comcast, the Copyright Alliance, and Time Warner. He’s…
CCIA Submits Comments On Proposed Change To IPR Claim Construction Standard
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
Today, the Computer & Communications Industry Association submitted its comments opposing the Patent Office’s proposal to change the claim construction standard applied in AIA trials from the current broadest reasonable interpretation (BRI) to the Phillips standard district courts apply. In brief, there are three main concerns: A change from BRI to Phillips is unjustified by…
If A Free Patent Portfolio License Sounds Too Good To Be True—It Is
by Josh Landau • • 0 Comments
Non-practicing entities (NPEs) are generally companies with only one asset—their patents. So why would an NPE give away licenses to the only things it can generate value from? If it seems too good to be true, that’s because it might be. Act Now For A Free Patent License! iPEL (Innovative Patents, Ethical Licensing) is a…
More Evidence Is In—Alice Has Been Good For R&D
by Josh Landau •
Tuesday marked one milestone—utility patent number 10,000,000. But it also marked a far more important milestone—the 4-year anniversary of the Alice decision. Looking back on those 4 years, Alice has been a clear success in eliminating patents that never should have issued. It’s had a very limited impact on patent prosecution, with most applications entirely…