Washington – Today, the White House is announcing additional executive actions aimed at strengthening patent quality and curbing the damage to the U.S. economy from patent trolls.
The new executive actions will work with industry to give patent examiners more access to information as well as more technical training. The US Patent and Trademark Office is also launching an online tool kit to provide better information to consumers and main street businesses that have become a target of patent trolls looking for quick money. And, importantly, the Administration is renewing its call to Congress to pass bipartisan patent reform this year.
The House of Representatives passed the Innovation Act by a strong bipartisan vote this past December, and the Senate is currently considering similar legislation to tackle the patent troll problem.
The Computer & Communications Industry Association has been an advocating patent reform for a decade. The following can be attributed to CCIA President & CEO Ed Black:
“There has been useful progress made in fixing our malfunctioning patent system in the courts, via legislation and through administrative actions such as were announced today, but the scope and breadth of the problems remain huge, and much more needs to be done.”
The following can be attributed to CCIA Patent Counsel Matt Levy, who was at the White House announcement Thursday afternoon:
“The Obama Administration’s continued commitment to making our patent system support innovation, not litigation, is very exciting. We look forward to continuing our work with the Administration on reigning in patent trolls.”