For several years, there have been rumblings that Congress will be passing patent litigation reform. The proposed reforms have primarily been directed at addressing complaints about so-called “patent trolls” that misuse “bad patents” by bringing resulting vexatious and costly litigation that leave companies with a choice between paying to defend the lawsuit and paying a settlement to end the litigation.
Prior efforts at reform stalled. Most recently, at the end of 2013, the proposed Innovation Act passed by an overwhelming majority on a 325-91 vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Senate version of the bill, the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act, had progressed through the Judiciary Committee and was about to reach the Senate floor. But Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, who had been a vocal critic of the current system and a proponent of reforms intended to curb perceived abuses, pulled the bill after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, informed Leahy he would not let it come to the floor for a vote. Again, patent reform efforts stalled in Congress.
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