CEA Urges 145 Universities To Reconsider Opposition to Patent Reform Bill

Six weeks after 145 U.S. universities wrote Congress expressing opposition to the Innovation Act (HR-9) as a measure that goes “well beyond what is needed” to address patent abuse (see 1502250046), CEA wrote those universities urging them to reconsider. CEA views the bill as “fair, common-sense legislation that would curb abusive patent litigation by patent trolls, while protecting inventors, innovative companies, research institutions and licensors such as universities,” it said Wednesday in a statement. “It is disappointing to see universities reject common-sense reform, especially since many universities are licensing publicly funded patents,” said CEA President Gary Shapiro. Contrary to the universities’ concerns, the bill “would create a clear standard for shifting fees in patent cases, which isn’t a significant departure from the fee shifting provision that has existed in U.S. patent law since 1946,” Shapiro said. Litigation fees would be shifted in patent cases only if “the position and conduct of the non-prevailing party or parties” weren't “reasonably justified in law and fact,” he said. It’s also unlikely that any university “would ever be in a position to be affected by the joinder requirements in the Innovation Act,” Shapiro said, addressing another of the schools’ concerns. “This provision will apply only to cases brought by entities that exist for the sole purpose of litigating a patent.”