Political Quotes

“At this time, it is my pleasure to yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Washington State (Ms. DelBene), a distinguished member of the Judiciary Committee. Ms. DelBENE. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Madam Chairman, from the Judiciary Committee's examination of abusive patent litigation this year, it is clear that there is a need for legislative action. This issue has harmed companies large and small, from big tech companies to small retailers, restaurants and credit unions, and in recent years, even our public transit agencies have been targeted by these so-called ``patent trolls.'' In my home State of Washington, King County Metro was hit with a lawsuit in 2011 from ArrivalStar, a company that claimed infringement of a patent that was so broad that it could potentially cover any system that tracks a vehicle. With this lawsuit, King County's innovative bus tracking technology and a popular mobile application called ``OneBusAway,'' which relies on Metro's data, was threatened. Even if there were a strong case to be made for challenging the patent's validity, fighting a suit like this can run into the millions of dollars, all at taxpayer expense. So King County had to settle with ArrivalStar, costing taxpayers $80,000. King County was not alone. At least 11 transit systems settled with ArrivalStar in response to lawsuits over bus tracking systems rather than undertake expensive and time-consuming litigation. This kind of litigation abuse does a disservice to the U.S.…”