U.S. Patent & Trademark Office building in Alexandria, VA. (Photo: Diego Radzinschi/ALM)

The America Invents Act has added $3 billion to Gross National Product and $1.4 billion to personal income over the last six years, according to a study sponsored by Unified Patents.

The Perryman Group estimated that the 10,085 administrative trials on patent validity held at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board—in lieu of or sometimes in parallel with district court proceedings—generated economic benefits of about $292,000 per case and $139,985 in personal income, along with about 13,500 job years of employment.

"The AIA and PTAB reduce the need for and cost of patent litigation, reducing transaction costs and generating many substantial economic benefits," the report concludes. The biggest gains were in manufacturing and trade, transportation and utilities, according to the report.

Unified Patents is supported by dues from companies that are frequent targets of patent infringement lawsuits, and is one of the most frequent petitioners for AIA validity trials at the PTAB. The study might be regarded as a response from the technology, retail and automotive industries to surveys backed by pharmaceuticals and parts of the manufacturing and software industries that promote stronger patent rights.

"This is a study a lot of people have been asking for but hasn't been done before," Unified Chief Operating Officer Shawn Ambwani said. "People have always said, 'Is the PTAB good or bad for the economy?' Our position, and our economist's position, is that it's good."

Ambwani said it's not a secret that his organization frequently utilizes the AIA to challenge patents that Unified perceives as weak. "In the end we're trying to improve patent quality, and I think that's what the AIA is trying to do," he said.

The Waco, Texas-based Perryman Group is headed by M. Ray Perryman. His organization has been busy lately appraising the economic fallout to the state of Texas from COVID-19 and an oil price shock.