Patent litigation reform needed now

Posted by Horacio Gutierrez
Deputy General Counsel & Corporate Vice President, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft

Microsoft joined nearly 400 companies and associations in calling upon the Senate Judiciary Committee to approve urgently needed patent litigation reform legislation. The Committee is working to forge a well-calibrated compromise aimed at curbing abusive litigation practices and strengthening our patent system. In any compromise there are always areas where one or more of the interested parties wish the outcome would go further, while others feel it might go too far. We certainly feel that way in some respects, but we also recognize that meaningful compromise on important measures, including fee-shifting, a path to discovery reform, and increased transparency, will provide new tools to fight frivolous lawsuits, while still protecting the patent rights of America’s innovators. We strongly believe it is important for this set of reforms to be enacted now.

Microsoft thanks Chairman Leahy, Ranking Member Grassley, and Senators Cornyn, Schumer, Lee, and Hatch for their leadership in advancing patent litigation reform legislation through Committee. Microsoft has consistently advocated for balanced reforms, from the America Invents Act to the House-passed Innovation Act, and we are pleased to support the Committee’s efforts. We urge the Committee to approve the emerging bipartisan compromise and to send meaningful patent litigation reform to the full Senate.