CEO DATELINE - Associations split on congressional attempt to rein in patent trolls
CEO DATELINE - Associations split on congressional attempt to rein in patent trolls
- June 12, 2015 |
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Walt Williams
Tech industry wants the bill, but biotech and venture capitalists have concerns
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The tech sector may love it, but a bill to roll back lawsuit abuse by "patent trolls" has run into opposition from associations representing the biotechnology industry and venture capitalists.
Passage of the Innovation Act is a top priority for groups like the Consumer Electronics Association, which issued a statement Thursday praising the House Judiciary Committee for approving the bill. The bill would make several changes to laws regarding patent infringement in order to curb so-called patent trolls, a term for individuals and companies that sue other entities for alleged patent violations for the sole purpose of making money.
"Patent trolls bleed $1.5 billion a week from the U.S. economy—that's almost $120 billion since the House passed a patent reform bill in December of 2013," CEA CEO Gary Shapiro said. "The money that a business must spend on legal bills to fight off trolls is funding it can't invest in developing new products or creating new jobs."
The U.S. House of Representatives approved similar legislation in 2013 but the Senate didn't approve the bill. A major hurdle is opposition from biotech companies, which believe the proposed changes could weaken the patent system at the core of their business model.
"Despite some improvements to the bill, the latest version of the Innovation Act remains unacceptable in certain respects, and includes new provisions that require additional careful vetting for potentially negative unintended consequences for patent owners," the Biotechnology Industry Association said in a statement.
"BIO remains concerned that the bill would impose unreasonable challenges for innovative start-up and other small companies seeking to protect their intellectual property in a timely and efficient manner, and could chill the investment and collaboration that is so critical to the biotech innovation ecosystem."
The National Venture Capital Association also has come out against the legislation, at least in its current form.
The bill would "create unintended consequences that will discourage investment in innovation and entrepreneurship by making it more difficult for any patent-reliant startup to defend their intellectual property," NVCA CEO Bobby Franklin said.
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