Subcommittee to Hold Hearing on Abusive Patent Litigation
Washington, D.C. - Tomorrow at 11:30 a.m., the Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee will hold a hearing entitled “Abusive Patent Litigation: The Impact on American Innovation & Jobs, and Potential Solutions.” This hearing will examine abusive patent litigation, particularly in the context of patent assertion entities (PAEs), commonly referred to as “patent trolls”.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman Howard Coble (R-N.C.) released the following statements in advance of Thursday’s hearing.
Chairman Goodlatte: “Abusive patent litigation and specifically patent trolls have a significant impact on American competitiveness, costing our economy billions of dollars each year. Tomorrow’s hearing will allow us to examine the landmark America Invents Act and determine how best to further protect American inventions and promote innovation by discouraging frivolous patent litigation.”
Subcommittee Chairman Coble: “I hope Thursday’s hearing will help shed some light on how the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act is affecting patent litigation and whether new legislative proposals are needed to further reform this litigation.”
Witnesses for tomorrow’s hearing include:
Mr. Mark Chandler, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Cisco Systems, Inc.;
Ms. Janet Dhillon, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, J.C. Penney Company, Inc.;
Mr. John Boswell, Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, SAS Institute, Inc.;
Mr. C. Graham Gerst, Partner, Global IP Law Group, LLC;
Mr. Phillip Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief Intellectual Property Counsel, Johnson & Johnson; and
Mr. Dana Rao, Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Intellectual Property and Litigation, Adobe Systems, Inc.
All House Judiciary Committee hearings are webcast live at www.judiciary.house.gov. The hearing will take place in 2141 Rayburn. For more information about this hearing, visit /_files/hearings/113th/hear_03142013_2.html.