Tech companies SAP AG and Vizio Inc. have a friend in Representative Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), the sponsor of a patent lawsuit reform bill to fight so-called "patent trolls."
Speaking Tuesday at the Association of Corporate Counsel's Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, SAP senior IP counsel Lisa Buccino and Vizio general counsel and legal affairs vice president Jerry Huang signaled their support for the Innovation Act [PDF], which Goodlatte introduced last week. The legislation is intended to make it more difficult for patent trolls—also known as patent assertion entities (PAEs)—to file abusive lawsuits, without weakening the overall U.S. patent system.
SAP and Vizio constantly face attacks by patent trolls, Buccino and Huang said. The patent system, the lawyers said, is skewed toward PAEs, which they said have little to lose when pursuing infringement claims.
Comments