Omaha Daily Herald Letter to the Editor: Terry is right to take on the trolls, by David Milligan
This letter to the editor originally appeared in Omaha.com on July 10, 2014.
Rep. Lee Terry is working on legislation to address patent trolls.
Our intellectual-property system has been the victim of bad actors — patent trolls — who use demand letters to threaten litigation in the hope that the recipients will settle out of court rather than incur the legal fees to defend themselves.
Terry’s bill proposes to put the brakes on the proliferation of patent trolls by establishing requirements for details that must be included in such demand letters and by penalizing those who use misleading information. The objective is to ensure America’s innovators can focus on their craft — and thus grow our economy — without the costly burden of defending against dubious litigation.
As a patent law attorney, I’ve represented multiple clients who have been subjected to demand letters from trolls. Terry is on the right track.
David Milligan, Omaha