Political Quotes

“I come to the floor to speak in support of legislation I introduced, the Venue Equity and Non-Uniformity Elimination Act, or VENUE Act, that addresses patent venue reform. Patents are an important part of our economy and are vital to promoting innovation and spurring growth, but the patent system is at risk. There is an ever-increasing problem of patent lawsuits brought by nonpracticing entities, also known as patent trolls. This problem is exacerbated by plaintiffs being able to handpick friendly judicial venues that are otherwise unrelated to the alleged infringement. An article in the Harvard Business Review states that ``patent trolls cost defendant firms $29 billion per year in direct out-of-pocket costs'' and ``in aggregate, patent litigation destroys over $60 billion in firm wealth each year.'' It is clear these types of abuses impose substantial costs on the economy and simply cannot be ignored any longer. Additionally, according to a 2013 White House patent report, the bulk of patent troll suits target small and investor-driven companies. This is a real threat to innovation. The VENUE Act addresses this issue and ensures that patent cases are litigated where there is a connection to the patent dispute. Under the VENUE Act, in order for a case to be properly litigated, it must be brought where either, No. 1, the defendant has a principal place of business or, No. 2, the alleged infringing act occurred or, No.…”