LaCrosse Tribune Letter to the Editor: Bills would curb innovation, by Jason Knack
This post originally appeared in the LaCrosse Tribune on February 24, 2016.
Two bills working their way through Congress have united conservative, small business and education groups in opposition. These two bills would create a stacked legal system that would punish small-business innovation and reward mega corporations and their teams of expensive lawyers.
S 1137 (the PATENT Act) and HR 9 (the Innovation Act) would change the way patent lawsuits are handled. The new process would create a complex and expensive legal patchwork that would make it nearly impossible for small and medium-sized businesses and inventors to defend their patents. While large corporations, and their teams of high-priced attorneys will be impacted little by the changes in these bills, those without the resources to defend their patents will be devastated.