News

The PTAB Reform Act Will Weaken the U.S. Innovation Ecosystem

June 21, 2022
A new patent bill called The PTAB Reform Act has been proposed in the Senate to replace the previously introduced Restoring the America Invents Act, which we have written about previously. This new bill has some of the same problems.
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The New York Times Got It Wrong on Patents

April 16, 2022
On Saturday, April 16, 2022, the New York Times posted an opinion piece called “Save America’s Patent System”, calling for an overhaul of the U. S.
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Why Big Tech is Seeking to Undermine PTAB Reforms

January 5, 2022
As we explained in an earlier blog, Big Tech companies are now pushing legislation that would reverse recent reforms at the PTAB (Patent Trial and Appeal Board). These reforms have made the Board fairer and more balanced, including reinforcing Congress’s original intent that the PTAB should be a cost-effective alternative to district court litigation, not an additional avenue for challenging patents.
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The Patent Eligibility Crisis Threatens Investments in Breakthrough Technologies

By Chris Israel
December 3, 2021
One of the most pressing issues hindering innovation in the United States is the uncertainty surrounding patent eligibility jurisprudence. Since 2005, the Supreme Court has issued four unprecedented rulings related to Section 101, the section of the Patent Act addressing determinations of what is and what is not eligible to be patented.
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Leahy-Cornyn Bill Would Allow Gaming of PTAB by Big Tech

October 1, 2021
As the fight continues to protect inventors against the deep-pocketed threat of Big Tech and those who seek to engage in predatory infringement, Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX) introduced a piece of legislation recently that would weaken critical IP protections the USPTO had enacted to the post-grant system at the PTAB during the previous administration. On September 29th, Innovation Alliance Executive Director, Brian Pomper, issued a statement laying out the issues his organization sees with the Restoring the America Invents Act.
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America’s Patent Crisis Isn’t About Patent Quality

July 15, 2021
Stakeholders throughout the patent system agree that patent quality is a good thing. We all want the U.
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The Injunction Function: Why It Matters to Secure Patents as Property Rights

By Adam Mossoff
May 4, 2021
Today, patent policy often seems mired in complex legal debates. For instance, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (created in the America Invents Act of 2011) has led to five Supreme Court cases raising intricate questions and complex disputes in administrative law, the interpretation of statutes, and constitutional law.
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National Security Commission on AI Report Highlights Need for Strengthening U.S. Patent System

March 24, 2021
The National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence (NSCAI) – a congressionally mandated, bipartisan committee, comprised of technologists, academic leaders, business executives and national security professionals – was created in 2018 “to consider the methods and means necessary to advance the development of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and associated technologies to comprehensively address the national security and defense needs of the United States. ” The Commission, co-chaired by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, submitted its final report to the President and Congress earlier this month.
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Predatory Infringement: Another Market Abuse by Big Tech

January 18, 2021
While much of the recent antitrust scrutiny of Big Tech companies has focused on their abuse of market dominant positions in areas of pricing, search, advertising and publishing, there is another important area where these companies have been abusing their positions to squash competition: patents. For years now, Big Tech companies have successfully advocated for and taken advantage of weakened patent protections in the United States to infringe on the patents of smaller inventors with impunity.
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