House Judiciary Committee Approves Innovation Act

The House Judiciary Committee approved the Innovation Act 24-8 Thursday. HR-9 “takes steps to combat the ever increasing problem of abusive patent litigation” and “abusive practices taking place in our courts,” said a House Judiciary Committee news release. Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chief sponsor of the Innovation Act, praised the committee’s approval of the bill, calling abusive patent litigation a “drag on our economy” that affects all businesses and industries. Goodlatte said the legislation “takes the necessary steps to address abusive patent litigation, while protecting legitimate property rights.” There’s been an increase in innovation stifled by what he described as patent trolls, “who see our patent system not as a tool to spur inventiveness, but as a club with which to bludgeon those who truly seek to innovate and grow our economy,” said Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif. “We must restore the promise that hard work and ingenuity lead not to crippling, frivolous lawsuits, but to well-deserved success.” Subcommittee Ranking Member Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., said he supports the Innovation Act because “a strong patent system requires that we protect business and consumers from the harm caused by abusive litigation.” House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., said that when “businesses aren’t bogged down with abusive patent litigation, they spend on average $211 million more on research and development than firms that have to redirect resources to protect their original ideas in court.” Though the Innovation Act isn't the bill Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Wash., would have written, it “takes steps toward creating a more transparent system that will help protect innovators and entrepreneurs throughout the patent ecosystem,” she said in a news release. While DelBene ultimately voted for the bill’s passage out of committee, she said more work is needed before it comes to the House floor. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, CEA, NAB and the Software & Information Industry Association applauded the committee’s passage of the bill.