NCTA was among the 50 industry trade associations...
NCTA was among the 50 industry trade associations and public interest groups that urged House and Senate leaders in a letter Wednesday to pass legislation meant to address the problem of “patent trolls.” The number of defendants facing patent infringement…
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lawsuits brought by patent trolls has quadrupled since 2005 and patent trolls’ activity cost the U.S. economy $80 billion in 2011, the groups said in the letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., have been seeking “comprehensive legislative solutions” through their committees, while individual members of Congress have introduced their own bills aimed at addressing the effects of patent trolls; the White House’s executive actions, mainly directed at addressing the problem through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and related legislative recommendations are also an encouraging step, the groups said. Other industry groups that signed onto the letter: the Application Developers Alliance, Association of National Advertisers, Competitive Carriers Association, CompTel, Computer and Communications Industry Association, the CEA, Direct Marketing Association, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Engine Advocacy, Information Technology Industry Council, Internet Association, Internet Infrastructure Association, MPAA, NAB, NCTA, NTCA, Online Publishers Association, Public Knowledge, the Software & Information Industry Association, TechAmerica, TechNet and USTelecom (http://bit.ly/12TfZ1M).