US government report targets software patents
Managing IP is part of the Delinian Group, Delinian Limited, 4 Bouverie Street, London, EC4Y 8AX, Registered in England & Wales, Company number 00954730
Copyright © Delinian Limited and its affiliated companies 2024

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

US government report targets software patents

Focus on the type of patent, rather than the identity of the litigant: that was the conclusion of a US Government Accountability Office report into patent litigation and patent quality published this week

The report, which was mandated under Section 34 of the America Invents Act, noted that lawsuits involving software-related patents accounted for about 89% of the increase in defendants between 2007 and 2011. It added that most of the suits brought by so-called patent monetisation entities involved software-related patents.

In 2011 patents related to software made up more than half of all patents issued in the United States.

The report concluded that a focus on whether the litigants are operating or non-operating companies, individual inventors or big companies etc, may be “misplaced”.

The GAO welcomed the USPTO’s recent efforts “to work with the software industry to more uniformly define software terminology and make it easier to identify relevant patents and patent owners”.

It also recommended that the USPTO consider examining trends in patent infringement litigation, including the types of patents and issues in dispute, and consider linking this information to internal data on patent examination to improve the quality of issued patents and the patent examination process.

That was the only recommendation made in the report.

In a response, Teresa Stanek Rea, acting director of the USPTO, said the Office concurred with the recommendation.

She said the Office agreed “it would be appropriate to consider making better use of information [relating to patent cases] by examining trends in patent infringement litigation”. It also agreed that it would be appropriate to consider linking trends in patent litigation to internal data on patent examination.

more from across site and ros bottom lb

More from across our site

A 36-member team from Zhong Lun Law Firm, including six partners, will join the newly formed East IP Group
The Delhi High Court sided with Ericsson against Indian smartphone maker Lava, bringing the companies' nine-year dispute to a close
We provide a rundown of Managing IP’s news and analysis from the week, and review what’s been happening elsewhere in IP
Tennessee has passed the ELVIS Act, a law that fights against AI models that mimic the voice and likeness of music artists
Rob Stien, chief communications and public policy officer at InterDigital, says the EU has forgotten innovators while trying to solve an issue that doesn’t exist
As Australia’s Qantm IP leans towards being acquired by a private equity company, sources discuss what it could mean for IP firms
Law firms that are conscious of their role in society are more likely to win work, according to a survey of over 23,000 in-house professionals
Nghiem Xuan Bac Pham, managing partner of Vision & Associates, discusses opportunities created by the US-China rift as well as profitability issues facing IP practices
Douglas Leite and two of his colleagues were intrigued by Bhering Advogados’s mission to grow its patent litigation practice
Each week Managing IP speaks to a different IP practitioner about their life and career
Gift this article