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CEA Applauds House Judiciary Committee Passage of Innovation Act

14-Jun-2015 | Source : Consumer Electronics Association | Visits : 6464
ARLINGTON, VA – The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®, regarding the House Judiciary Committee’s  passage of the Innovation Act of 2015:
 
“We commend the Judiciary Committee for crafting a comprehensive bill addressing patent litigation abuse and passing it by a strong, bipartisan 24-8 vote. This balanced, common-sense legislation closes the legal loopholes used by patent trolls—individuals and companies that don’t invent or manufacture, but simply abuse our patent system to extort American innovators. At the same time the bill strengthens our patent system, maintains the rights of legitimate businesses to enforce legitimate patents and supports continued innovation by US companies.
 
“We thank the committee for the thoughtful compromises on discovery and venue which, as adopted at the markup, will make the patent troll business model much less attractive. We are also pleased with commitments from various members to further address the pleading provisions. Fairness requires that plaintiffs must identify and detail the nature of their claims, and defendants must have specific information about their alleged infringements.
 
“Patent trolls bleed $1.5 billion a week from the US economy—that’s almost $120 billion since the House passed a patent reform bill in December of 2013. The money that a business must spend on legal bills to fight off trolls is funding it can’t invest in developing new products or creating new jobs. The Innovation Act will stop this legalized extortion of American innovators and free our small businesses from the burden of bogus lawsuits.
 
“We now ask House leadership to recognize the critical need to protect our small businesses and entrepreneurs, and move forward with the Innovation Act as quickly as possible. American innovation can’t afford the ongoing tidal wave of patent troll demand letters, threats and lawsuits. Now is the time for comprehensive patent reform.”
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the technology trade association representing the $286 billion US consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative and regulatory advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. 
 
 
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