Bipartisan 'STRONGER Patents Act' introduced in USA

On Tuesday, US Representative Steve Stivers (Republican, Ohio) and Representative Bill Foster (Democrat, Illinois) introduced HR 5340, the Support Technology & Research for Our Nation’s Growth and Economic Resilience (STRONGER) Patent Act, in order to strengthen the USA’s crippled patent system.

The STRONGER Patent Act would reverse that trend by standing up for small businesses that rely on patents by providing court-level standards at the United States Patents and Trademark Office and providing injunctive relief against those who infringe on patents. It also protects small patent owners and start-ups by eliminating harassing, duplicitous patent demand letters, many of which are often sent in bad faith by so-called “trolls.” By defining the process of sending superfluous demand letters as a “Deceptive and Unfair Act or Practice,” the STRONGER Patent Act is equipping the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) with the tools necessary to crack down on these trolls.

Welcomed by biotech trade group