More Patent Trolling Legislation Introduced

The issue of “patent trolling” continues to heat up in Congress. On May 18th, Rep. Ted Deutsch (D-FL) introduced H.R. 2024, the “End Anonymous Patents Act.” His bill would require the owner and any other parties with an interest in the patent to disclose themselves to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) upon filing the patent. In addition, when the ownership of a patent changes, the acquirer of the patent must disclose the parties with an interest in the patent to PTO as well. It also prevents the patent owner or other parties from collecting damages in a patent infringement suit from collecting damages if they fail to comply with the disclosure requirements.  

This bill follows legislation by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) (H.R. 845, the SHIELD Act) that would allow the recovery of legal fees in a wrongful suit for patent infringement. In the Senate, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) also has introduced legislation (S. 866) to allow for post-grant review of patents. We are also hearing that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) plan bipartisan patent troll legislation as well.

We will continue to monitor this emerging issue for the advertising industry. If you have any questions, please contact Dan Jaffe in ANA’s Washington office at 202.296.2359 or at djaffe@ana.net.