Senate Tackles Patent Reform

Last week Senators Gardner (R-CO), Flake (R-AZ), and Lee (R-UT) introduced S. 2733 a bill that would address the issue of venue reform in patent litigation cases. Last year, nearly half of all new patent infringement cases filed in the United States were filed in one judicial district. The high volume of cases filed in this district is not a coincidence. Patent Assertion Entities, otherwise known as patent trolls, take advantage of broad interpretations of current law that allow them to file their lawsuits where local rules and practices, along with physical distance, make it very expensive for companies to defend themselves.  NAR supports venue reform along with a comprehensive set of patent litigation reforms aimed at curbing patent troll abuses.