Patent "trolls" bill not likely soon

Published 22 April 2008

Patent trolls, who file patents without any intention of developing them, have been the bane of the technology sector (remember the Blackberry case?); a bill to limit the rights of trolls passed the House but stalled in a Senate committee

Remember the stand-off over the underlying technology in Blackberry, a stand-off which threatened to shut down the PDA e-mail feature (see this HSDW story)? Many large technology companies were hoping that in reaction to that crisis, Congress will pass legislation limiting the ability of patent “trolls” to force the production and sales of technology products to be halted while litigation over patent infringement goes on. This is not likely to happen anytime soon. A bill going through the U.S. Senate which would have slashed the damages inventors receive when patents are infringed has been put on hold. The US Patent Reform Bill, backed by Microsoft, Apple, and Intel, aims to reduce incentives for patent trolls, who file patents without any intention of developing them. It sets damages in proportion to the contribution an invention makes to a product, rather than the full value of the product. Inventors say the bill would encourage infringement.

Two weeks ago a Senate Judiciary Committee failed to reach a consensus on the bill, which has already been passed by the House, leaving little time for a vote before attention shifts to the congressional elections in November.