Patent Practices Patent Reform Roundtable: Priority Issues
Universities support goals of legislative proposals intended to curtail abusive practices in the patent system; such practices impair the ability of the U.S. patent system to foster innovation and economic competitiveness. Legitimate patent holders across the spectrum are victimized by these practices, including universities and their licensees, including particularly vulnerable start-up companies and small businesses. In seeking to address these abusive practices, the challenge is to avoid provisions that do more harm than good, to implement carefully crafted proposals that target abusive practices in ways that do not undermine the capacity of patent holders legitimately to enforce their patent rights. Failure to accomplish this critical balancing act could cripple the nation’s innovation system.