Lee Terry: “I rise for the purpose of entering into a colloquy with my friend from Utah joining with me. Chairman Goodlatte, I want…”

“I rise for the purpose of entering into a colloquy with my friend from Utah joining with me. Chairman Goodlatte, I want to thank you for your attention to the very serious problem of patent assertion entities, otherwise known as ``patent trolls'' here today. On November 14, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing entitled: ``The Impact of Patent Assertion Entities on Innovation and the Economy.'' We heard from a variety of witnesses from industries including the food, hospitality, and tech, all of whom had been targeted by vague, unfair, and deceptive patent troll demand letters. That hearing revealed significant economic harm to Main Street businesses in the economy caused by such patent troll demand letters. These entities engage in abusive practices that often target small businesses because they don't have the resources to fight back. At the markup for the Innovation Act, Mr. Chaffetz offered an amendment that resulted in a sense of Congress in the bill before us today. That sentence says: It is an abuse of the patent system and against public policy for a party to send out a purposely evasive demand letter to end-users alleging patent infringement. {time} 1000 As chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade with jurisdiction over these type of consumer abuses, I join with your sentiments. We understand that time is of the essence. I yield to the gentleman from Utah (Mr.…”