Senator Hatch speaks up on patent reform

for Senator Hatch's comments, see the link:

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/opinion-must-finally-legislate-patent-trolls-existence

From text within:

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There is broad agreement—among both big and small businesses—that any serious solution must include:

• Fee shifting, which will require patent trolls to pay legal fees when their suits are unsuccessful;
• Heightened pleading and discovery standards, which will raise the bar on litigation procedure, making it increasingly difficult for trolls to file frivolous lawsuits;
• Demand letter reforms, which will require those sending demand letters to be more specific and transparent;
• Stays of customer suits, which will allow a manufacturer’s case to move forward first, without binding the end user to the result of that case;
• A mechanism to enable recovery of fees, which will prevent insolvent plaintiffs from litigating and dashing.

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As to "loser pays," note that the Innovation Act starts with the presumption that "every" loser will pay, troll or not.
This is a shift from the typical American system, where fees are shifted only in exceptional situations.

Whether there is broad agreement on "loser pays" remains to be seen. Ask Professor Richard Epstein or Congressman Dana Rohrabacher.