Reps. Cardenas, Farenthold Refile ITC Litigation Abuse Bill
Reps. Tony Cardenas, D-Calif., and Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, jointly reintroduced the Trade Protection Not Troll Protection Act March 22. The bill (here), which the House didn't consider when it was introduced during the previous Congress, would require patent assertion entities…
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to have a “vested interest” in a patent before the entity could seek an International Trade Commission patent infringement investigation. The bill would also give the ITC more leeway to consider at any point in Section 337 proceedings whether the investigation is in the public interest, rather than only when making a final determination in a case. The bill would codify the ITC's 2013 pilot program that allows a 100-day expedited fact-finding and hearing process in patent investigations. “American businesses are being crippled by the bureaucracy it takes to fight these claims,” Cardenas said in a news release (here). Patent litigation abuse “is a drag on our economy and it stifles innovation,” Farenthold said in the release. “Our legislation curbs the problem by targeting abusive patent trolls and discouraging frivolous patent lawsuits.” The Consumer Technology Association lauded Cardenas and Farenthold for reintroducing the bill, which was supported by Cisco, Dell and Google. The bill will allow the ITC to “continue to be a robust resource for U.S. companies, but it will be a less attractive venue for frivolous patent extortion,” said CTA CEO Gary Shapiro in a statement.