White House Announces Reforms Targeting Patent Trolls

Posted by timothy on Tuesday June 4, 2013 @01:26AM from the setting-the-tone dept.

andy1307 writes "According to Politico (and, paywalled, at The Wall Street Journal), the White House on Tuesday [released] plans to announce a set of executive actions President Barack Obama will take that are aimed at reining in certain patent-holding firms, known as 'patent trolls' to their detractors, amid concerns that the firms are abusing the patent system and disrupting competition. The plan includes five executive actions and seven legislative recommendations. They include requiring patent holders and applicants to disclose who really owns and controls the patent, changing how fees are awarded to the prevailing parties in patent litigation, and protecting consumers with better protections against being sued for patent infringement."

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What is patentable? by Anonymous+Brave+Guy · 2013-06-04 01:33 · Score: 5, Insightful

Do these measures address arguably the most fundamental problem: too many things are patentable in the US and patents are awarded too easily in the first place?

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1. Re:What is patentable? by Luckyo · 2013-06-04 02:37 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  No. The measures are going to be designed by same people who designed the current patent laws, and therefore will have the same goal: to enforce position of incumbent powerhouses against small disruptors.
  Therefore patents will likely be allowed to use as a method of suppressing competition for big companies. However small company use of patents to defend and attack anti-competitive practices will likely be destroyed in the name of "defending against patent trolls".
  The actual patent reform would take power from incumbent companies, and as a result will simply not happen.