SHIELD vs. Patent Trolls - You Can Help!
126Patent trolls have it pretty good-- all they have to do is file a patent for a very essential part of a technology with mass-appeal, then sue when someone else actually tries to create it. Just sit back and make money without actually producing, creating, or trying anything (besides threaten real innovators with lawsuits).
These leaches are the bane of many developers, as well as the very ideas of technology and innovation. And they need to be stopped. How? Well, currently there is hope through the SHIELD, or Saving High-tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes. Introduced by Congressmen Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), this bipartisan act could be the first step to shutting down patent trolls.
But, the SHIELD Act needs support. According to Wired.co.uk in this article (http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2013-03/01/patent-troll-law) and govtrack (http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/hr845), it only stands a 1% chance of being enacted.
It would make frivolous patent infringement lawsuits less exploitable by patent trolls by penalizing them for all the legal costs if they lose a trial after being ruled a troll (or "non-practicing entity," whichever term you prefer).
If you support cracking down on patent trolls, I encourage you to send a letter of your support of the SHIELD Act (H.R. 845) to your congressperson, via the Electronic Frontier Foundation's action center, HERE: https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9072
You can read The SHIELD Act in its entirety here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/127669554/H-R-845-2013-Shield-Act-re-patent-trolls
-Kim
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