Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Universities Warn Congress About Potentially Harmful Patent Legislation

The Association of American Universities is spotlighting a February 24, 2015 letter written by 144 U.S. universities warning Congress that patent legislation such as the Innovation Act, H.R. 9 "goes well beyond what is needed to address the bad actions of a small number of patent holders, and would instead make it more difficult and expensive for patent holders to defend their rights in good faith." The universities are especially worried that mandatory fee-shifting and involuntary joinder "would make the legitimate defense of patent rights excessively risky and thus weaken the university technology transfer process, which is an essential part of our country’s innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem."
The full text of the letter is available at: http://www.aau.edu/policy/article.aspx?id=15923