Senate Patent Lawsuit Venue Rules Bill Draws CCIA, SIIA, Dish Support

Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., bowed his Venue Equity and Non-Uniformity Elimination Act (S-2733) Friday, quickly drawing support from several industry advocates of patent revamp legislation. S-2733 would revamp rules for placement of patent infringement lawsuits in federal courts, requiring at least one of the parties involved in the lawsuit be connected directly to the jurisdiction in which the lawsuit is filed. Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, co-sponsored S-2733. Patent revamp advocates have sought legislation like S-2733 to address what they view as misuse of current forum rules to place patent cases in courts viewed as friendly to such lawsuits, particularly the U.S. District Court in Tyler, Texas. That court district was the venue for 44 percent of all patent lawsuits in 2015. Computer and Communications Industry Association President Ed Black backed S-2733 Friday, saying in a statement that changing venue rules "will change the climate, and hopefully, change the profitability of these frivolous patent suits." Software & Information Industry Association Senior Vice President-Public Policy Mark MacCarthy said in a statement the bill would “restore balance to choice of forum rules in patent cases and address this economically damaging abuse of the legal system.” Dish said S-2733 “will help protect innovators from the growing problem of patent trolls.”