Weekly Patent News Highlights 4/27/14-5/1/14

More advocacy organizations and additional trade groups continue their lobbying effort approaching the proposed markup date, and previously unheard groups are finally speaking out.

A group consisting of over 200 universities, startups and other companies sent a letter on Tuesday, 4/29 warning of the potential consequences that will result from changes that they say “go far beyond what is necessary or desirable to combat abusive patent litigation.”

This week sees a post from IP Watchdog that goes into detail about the patent war surrounding the invention of the Smart Phone, and how the so-called “trolls” were in reality the saviors who helped enable the necessary patents and ideas to create todays biggest modern technology. Meanwhile, an article by The Hill looks into the countdown to the scheduled markup, and wonders if Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy will be able to realistically put together a compromise on his patent bill before time runs out.

In the end however, markup was rescheduled yet again. This is a sign that the Senate is realizing that this bill should not be rushed.

Now more than ever, it’s vital that we continue to voice our support for those who rely on a strong and fair patent system in order to spur innovation and the American economy.

See below for our roundup of the rest of this week’s Patent News.

George Mason CPIP: Demand Letters and Mandatory Disclosures: First Amendment Concerns
http://cpip.gmu.edu/2014/04/29/demand-letters-and-mandatory-disclosures-first-amendment-concerns/

Minnesota Daily: University should back the right kind of patent reform
http://www.mndaily.com/opinion/letters-editor/2014/04/27/university-should-back-right-kind-patent-reform

IP Watchdog: Why ‘Patent Reform’ Harms Innovative Small Businesses – Summary
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2014/04/30/patent-reform-harms-innovative-small-businesses-5/id=49281/

The Daily Californian: Patent-reform legislation spurs controversy among universities
http://www.dailycal.org/2014/04/27/patent-reform-legislation-spurs-controversy-among-universities/

Houston Business Journal: Alleged energy “patent troll” says it fights for the little guy
http://www.bizjournals.com/houston/blog/drilling-down/2014/04/alleged-energy-patent-troll-says-it-fights-for-the.html

IP Watchdog: Inventing the Smart Phone: Why the ‘Trolls’ Were Saviors
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2014/05/01/inventing-the-smart-phone-why-the-trolls-were-saviors/id=49356/

The Hill: OVERNIGHT TECH: Patent deal looking unlikely in time for markup
http://thehill.com/policy/technology/204750-overnight-tech-patent-deal-looking-unlikely-in-time-for-markup