Guest Opinion: Patent trolls have resurfaced and are hurting businesses
By Jonathan Johnson
As if the stresses of COVID werenât already enough for American businesses trying to recover, now, businesses are suffering a resurgence of bottom-feeders known as âPatent Trolls.â
Yes, American businesses are all recovering, coping with the loss of staff, supply chain issues, inflation, return-to-office vs. fully-remote-work debates, and many other challenges. These challenges create enough of an uphill climb to keep the momentum of the economy moving forward without these ugly beasts coming out of their caves.
Trolls siphon profits from hard-working business through bogus patent lawsuits. They target some of Americaâs most promising businessesâthose that have innovations that can bring us back from the economic harm inflicted during the pandemic. These Trolls, also known by the self-serving euphemistic name of âNon-Practicing Entities,â identify their business targets carefully, then strategically find some obscure patent, one that has barely a slim connection to some part of the promising businessâa patent long-dormant, unprofitable, not developed ever, and they buy the patent rights for a song. Then the Troll sends an extortion letter from lap-dog lawyers to their targets, demanding millions for alleged âpatent infringements.â
In 2011 Congress did something about these monsters. It passed the American Invents Act (AIA). The AIA provided victim businesses a cost-effective way to challenge Trolls in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) before the Trolls could drag their targets to their favorite courts.
In the wake of passage of the AIA, America saw a $3 billion surge in the GDP and the AIA process through the USPTO shouldered a large part of that increase as innovation thrived. Unfortunately, the USPTO dropped the ball and let the Trolls get back in the game. Over time, the AIA process has weakened, making it harder for businesses to successfully challenge these Trolls.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) are sponsoring the Restoring the America Invents Act (RAIA). This bill closes gaps the USPTO has let grow that weaken the patent review process. Congress needs to fix this silent killer of American businesses. Especially now. They fixed it in 2011, and now it needs to do it again. The RAIA will benefit Utah companies, and companies all over the U.S. (Read More)
News Releases
Rep. Curtis introduces bill to choke Russian energy sector and support US allies with domestic energy
Today, Congressman Curtis introduced the Energy Unleashing in Response to the Offenses of Putin against Europeans Act, or the EUROPE Act. The EUROPE Act closes a loophole in Bidenâs energy sanctions by isolating Russiaâs oil and gas industry from the global market through secondary sanctions. It also supports our European allies by replacing their Russian gas with reliable American clean energy. This will be done by boosting domestic production, expediting LNG exports to treaty ally countries, expediting liquified natural gas (LNG) terminals for the export to treaty allies, and financing the building of clean energy projects. (Read More)
Rep. Curtis welcomes announcement from Civica lowering cost of insulin
Representative John Curtis issued the following statement after the announcement from Utah founded and based Civica, Inc. (Civica, Civica Rx) to manufacture insulin at more affordable prices.
âThe cost of insulin is a source of financial hardship for so many Utahns,â said Rep. Curtis. âI am heartened to hear that a Utah company is innovating to deliver this drug at an affordable out-of-pocket price. I remain committed to working on long-term solutions that support the pharmaceutical industry in reducing prescription drug prices, and I applaud Civica, Inc. for their work to transparently do so. We must harness American innovation to bring affordable medications to the marketplace.â
State School Board seeks comments on redesigned Effective Teaching Standards
The Utah State Board of Education (USBE) is seeking public comment on its revised draft version of Utah Effective Teaching Standards (UETS).
UETS were first drafted in 2013 and subsequently became the backbone of much of our educational vision of what constitutes effective teaching. In the ensuing years, the educational landscape has continued to evolve and Utahâs vision has evolved with it to include the Portrait of a Graduate, the High Quality Instructional Cycle, and the Personalized Competency Based Framework. As USBE moves forward in efforts to articulate effective teaching while providing flexibility for schools and districts to adopt and adapt policies that move them toward providing more personalized, competency-based instruction, it was necessary to redesign the UETS to align with the Boardâs current vision.
Over the last several months, five teams of educators, school leaders, and community members have engaged in this redesign effort. The public is invited to review the draft standards and provide your feedback. USBE will accept feedback through 5 p.m. on April 8.
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