Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., introduced a bill in the House last week that aims to overhaul the way courts deal with patent lawsuits. The Patent Litigation and Innovation Act of 2013 is a companion to the Senate's Patent Abuse Reduction Act of 2013, and would put some safeguards in place to protect companies and other innovators from patent trolls.

For example, any party alleging infringement would have to include a “description of [its] principal business” and identify the assignees, exclusive licensees and co-owners of the patent it claims is being infringed.

Abusive litigation can be sanctioned under the bill, too. After a court decides “any civil action arising under any Act of Congress relating to patents,” it must “include in the record specific findings regarding compliance by each party and each attorney representing any party with each requirement of Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure as to any complaint, responsive pleading, or dispositive motion.”

The bill “represents a bipartisan effort to promote American innovation and job creation in the technology ecosystem by addressing the growing problem of abusive patent litigation,” says a statement on Jeffries' website.

Read more at PatentDocs.

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