Political Quotes

“I thank my colleague, Mr. Polis, for his leadership. Madam Chair, I join with the distinguished chairman in support of this amendment. I am proud to be one of the coauthors. I must say, contrary to what our dear friend from California just said, a lot of small investors have in fact endorsed this bill because it protects innovators in the garage from being killed off by large litigation they cannot afford. And it is precisely the opposite of what was being asserted by our friend from California. That is why Application Developers Alliance, Engine, EFF, and others have in fact endorsed the bill. I want to commend my friend, Mr. Polis, for his leadership on this amendment, and I am glad to join my colleagues, Messrs. Chaffetz and Marino, in offering it. Businesses large and small are being inundated with demand letters that essentially amount to an extortion for money based on vague or even illegitimate claims that a patent has been infringed upon. Because the cost of litigation often runs into the millions of dollars, many businesses are forced to settle, which is sapping them of money that could otherwise be spent on innovation and hiring. We know last year, for the first time ever, Apple and Google spent more on litigation than they did on R&D. I urge the adoption of the amendment. For example, Apple and Google recently reached a dubious milestone as both spent more on patent lawsuits and purchases than on R&D.…”