Hi-tech companies have raised numerous complaints before regulators about big patent licensing companies that are not engaged in any manufacturing themselves, but are de facto in the business of suing businesses, especially start-ups, using essentially weak patents. People abandon businesses, or are forced to settle, to avoid the costs of litigation. Patent trolls have created an environment of fear for start-ups. Recognizing the fact, Obama called for “smarter patent laws,” to address problems caused by these “non-practicing entities.”
He further expressed, “I’m an ardent believer that what’s powerful about the Internet is its openness and the capacity for people to get out there and just introduce a new idea with low barriers to entry … We also want to make sure that people’s intellectual property is protected.”
While the patent reforms, The America Invents Act, signed by Obama in 2011 is mainly focused on reducing costly patent litigation, it has only one minor provision aimed at checking the activities of patent trolls. The patent reforms made only one significant change – it moved from the rule of granting patents from those who were first to invent, to those who were first to file the paperwork. In effect, this has caused a spate in filing fast paperwork, giving rise to weak cases, and aiding rather than hindering the activities of patent trolls.
