The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is calling on the Senate to advance the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 (S. 1720), legislation that would significantly improve the U.S. patent process and stop patent abuse. Small business owners in home building and scores of other industries across the nation are increasingly being attacked by patent trolls who are indiscriminately issuing threatening letters to companies alleging patent infringement.
“This is little more than a coercion tactic intended to force companies to enter into a licensing agreement or risk litigation,” says NAHB Chairman Kevin Kelly, a home builder and developer from Wilmington, Del. “S. 1720 would improve the patent process and protect businesses and individuals who are the target of dubious claims.”
Fighting to stop patent trolls and fix patent laws, NAHB is a member of the Main Street Patent Coalition, a national, non-partisan coalition of organizations that are dedicated to stopping patent abuse from trolls by encouraging Congress to pass comprehensive, common sense patent reform legislation.
Senate bill S. 1720 would help put an end to bad-faith demand letters that are hurting jobs, stifling innovation and threatening small business owners with protracted, expensive patent infringement lawsuits.
The legislation makes clear that sending fraudulent or materially misleading demand letters in connection with the assertion of a patent is an unfair and deceptive trade practice that may be targeted by the Federal Trade Commission.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is expected to consider the bill in the near future.
