A large group of tech inventors and entrepreneurs, including Twitter cofounder Evan Williams, Facebook cofounder Dustin Koskovitz and Qualcomm Former Principle Engineer Ranganathan Krishnan, are asking Congress to stop patent trolls and reform the patent system, which they call "broken."
The group of about 50 technologists, who together hold more than 150 patents, believe "software patents are doing more harm than good" and think it's time to do something about it.
See also: Patent Trolls, Beware: Your Days May Be Numbered
"Broad, vague patents covering software-type inventions — some of which we ourselves are listed as inventors on — are a malfunctioning component of America's inventive machinery," the letter reads. "Perhaps it is time to reexamine the idea, dating from the 1980s, that government-issued monopolies on algorithms, protocols and data structures are the best way to promote the advancement of computer science."
The letter, below, was sent to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees on Tuesday by advocacy groups the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Engine. The letter comes amid a renewed push by legislators to fix the patent system and slow down so-called patent trolls — people or companies who sue others with the sole intention of winning big settlements.
These trolls, critics argue, claim dubious patents with the sole intention of forcing their targets to settle, knowing that they'd rather pay up than risk spending more in a long legal fight.
"These non-practicing entities do not make or sell anything," the letter argues. "Their exploitation of patents as a tool for extortion is undermining America’s technological progress. " The group of about 50 added that many of them wouldn't have gotten as far in their careers if the trolling problem had been such a big issue in the past as it is now.
The House and the Senate are currently considering two bills on patent reform: The Innovation Act (.PDF), introduced in the House by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), and the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act (.PDF), introduced in the Senate by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah).
The signatories support some of these bill's proposed changes, like allowing courts to make the losing party in a lawsuit pay all the legal fees of the winning party, and forcing plaintiffs to explain exactly which patents are infringed, currently not a requirement.
For those who signed the letter, these potential tweaks are limited and should only be the beginning of a broader effort to overhaul the patent system, but they are a necessary first step.
"We believe in the promise of technology and the power of creation to increase access to information, to create jobs, and to make the world a better place," the letter concluded. "Please do not let patent trolls continue to frustrate that purpose."
You can read the full letter below:
https://www.eff.org/files/2013/11/19/inventor_letter.pdf
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