This year alone, the Supreme Court has already heard 6 patent-related cases, and will probably be hearing more in the upcoming months. With so many hot button rights issues, one must clearly ask the question of why the nation's highest court is devoting so much time to something as mundane as intellectual property rights. The reason is that this is one of the most important issues in advancing the United States' technology sector and that without intellectual property protection, we run the risk of slowing American innovation. According to Paul Janicke, a University of Houston law professor, "The Supreme Court is worried and has been for years that patent power is too strong -- too many patents are issuing, too many people are being abused by them."
As a result of this worry, the Supreme Court has taken clear steps in favor of competition and innovation, by limiting patent owners' ability to use their patents to block others from building on their inventions.
From cases regarding software patents to pharmaceutical patents to the validity of patent trolls, The Supreme Court has been listening to, and analyzing the state of the current patent system today. They clearly recognize the importance of reforming the patent system and want to use these cases as the medium from which to do so.
One such case involved Nautilus Inc., the maker of exercise machines. In this case, Nautilus was claiming that a patent held by a rival company should be invalidated on the basis that it is not specific enough and is far too vague. This position is supported by many companies including Google and Amazon, since they believe that patents should clearly define the scope of an invention, rather than allowing the patent holder to broadly wield them as weapons from which to monetize the litigation system. This is one example of the important decision that the Supreme Court must make this year with regards to the patent reform process.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-04-25/patent-disputes-give-u-dot-s-dot-top-court-chance-to-curb-lawsuit-abuse#p1
As a result of this worry, the Supreme Court has taken clear steps in favor of competition and innovation, by limiting patent owners' ability to use their patents to block others from building on their inventions.
From cases regarding software patents to pharmaceutical patents to the validity of patent trolls, The Supreme Court has been listening to, and analyzing the state of the current patent system today. They clearly recognize the importance of reforming the patent system and want to use these cases as the medium from which to do so.
One such case involved Nautilus Inc., the maker of exercise machines. In this case, Nautilus was claiming that a patent held by a rival company should be invalidated on the basis that it is not specific enough and is far too vague. This position is supported by many companies including Google and Amazon, since they believe that patents should clearly define the scope of an invention, rather than allowing the patent holder to broadly wield them as weapons from which to monetize the litigation system. This is one example of the important decision that the Supreme Court must make this year with regards to the patent reform process.
Source: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-04-25/patent-disputes-give-u-dot-s-dot-top-court-chance-to-curb-lawsuit-abuse#p1
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