On the recordDecember 5, 2013
I thank the gentleman for yielding time. Mr. Chairman, I want to rise not so much in opposition to the manager's amendment, but in opposition to the bill and so that we can try to make sure that people understand what it is that they are voting on. We set out to solve a problem of patent trolls, and that term has become a convenient shorthand to refer to a class of plaintiffs who engage in abusive litigation tactics against deep-pocketed alleged infringers as well as individual inventors and small companies. I certainly recognize, as I have in my previous statement, that there are entities that exploit the litigation system to gain leverage against businesses, large and small, that represent a vital part of our economy, and I would like for Congress actually to deal with that issue in a meaningful way. Unfortunately, this bill adopts an extreme, unbalanced approach to address those abuses. The term ``patent troll'' simply has no concrete contours in application, making it nearly impossible to craft legislation specifically targeted to a category of entities or particular business models. And because not only patent trolls initiate litigation to enforce patent rights, legislation aimed at patent litigation system must not erect unfair barriers that deter legitimate, meritorious claims of infringement, nor should this bill be treated as if it will apply only in the troublesome jurisdictions in which these abuses are taking place.…
