The Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, chaired by Rep. Michael C. Burgess, M.D. (R-TX), has scheduled a hearing for Thursday, Feb. 26, at 10:15 a.m. in room 2322 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled “Update: Patent Demand Letter Practices and Solutions." Witnesses to be announced.
The subcommittee will hear from stakeholders and experts on the problem of abusive patent demand letters. Some patent holders have abused their property rights by making false claims to certain businesses or individuals who may be using technology similar to the patents they own. These bad actors have made a business of extortionate claims against businesses with little patent expertise and stand in contrast to patent owners who inform others truthfully of their ownership rights.
Last year, the subcommittee marked up draft legislation focusing on Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general enforcement when patent owners engage in a pattern of sending letters making false statements in bad faith. The problem of abusive demand letters continues to be a very costly and serious issue, especially for small businesses around the nation. This Congress, the subcommittee will again seek to craft legislation that will protect consumers from these trolling schemes while preserving the ability of legitimate patent holders to fairly assert their rights in the usual course of business.as they are posted.