Congressional Record—House H7511
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December 5, 2013 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE H7511 House for 1 minute and to revise and may have 5 legislative days within Abusive patent litigation is a drag on extend his remarks.) which to revise and extend their re- our economy. Everyone from inde- Mr. AL GREEN of Texas. Madam marks and include extraneous material pendent inventors to start-ups to mid- Speaker, I want to thank Congressman on H.R. 3309 under consideration. and large-sized businesses face this CHRISTOPHER SMITH of New Jersey for The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. constant threat. The tens of billions of leading a codel to the Philippines. I, HULTGREN). Is there objection to the dollars spent on settlements and litiga- along with Congressman TRENT request of the gentleman from Vir- tion expenses associated with abusive FRANKS, were members of the codel. ginia? patent suits represent truly wasted And I want people to know that there There was no objection. capital—wasted capital that could have is still great work to be done for our The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursu- been used to create new jobs, fund friends in the Philippines. ant to House Resolution 429 and rule R&D, and create new innovations and This picture depicts some of the dam- XVIII, the Chair declares the House in technologies that ‘‘promote the age that we were able to see while we the Committee of the Whole House on progress of science and useful arts.’’ were there in Tacloban, which is a the state of the Union for the consider- And that is what innovation is really province in the Philippines. This is an- ation of the bill, H.R. 3309. about, isn’t it? If you are able to create other picture that shows actual homes. The Chair appoints the gentlewoman something, invent something new and This is a USAID sign. And these are from North Carolina (Ms. FOXX) to pre- unique, then you should be allowed to places where people are actually dwell- side over the Committee of the Whole. sell your product, grow your business, ing at this time. The number one prob- b 0915 hire more workers, and live the Amer- lem that they have right now is shel- IN THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE ican Dream. ter. Accordingly, the House resolved The Innovation Act puts forward rea- I will also add that our military has itself into the Committee of the Whole sonable policies that allow for more done an outstanding job. I had an op- House on the state of the Union for the transparency and brings fundamental portunity to meet with many of our consideration of the bill (H.R. 3309) to fairness to the patent system and the military people who were there with amend title 35, United States Code, and courts. The Innovation Act is designed to heavy equipment, and I commend them the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act deal with systemic issues surrounding for what they have done. to make improvements and technical abusive patent litigation as a whole, Finally, I would like to say this. We corrections, and for other purposes, and includes a number of provisions de- have a bill, H.R. 3602, which would ac- with Ms. FOXX in the chair. cord people from the Philippines in the The Clerk read the title of the bill. signed to ameliorate this significant United States a temporary protective The CHAIR. Pursuant to the rule, the problem. status. This would allow them to stay bill is considered read the first time. Within the past couple of years, we here, as opposed to going home where The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. have seen an exponential increase in the income is less than $2 a day for GOODLATTE) and the gentleman from the use of weak or poorly granted pat- more than 40 percent of the people. Michigan (Mr. CONYERS) each will con- ents against American businesses with My hope is that we can pass H.R. trol 30 minutes. the hopes of securing a quick payday. 3602. It does not give any pathway to The Chair recognizes the gentleman Many of these abusive practices are fo- citizenship. It will only allow them to from Virginia. cused not just on larger companies but send money back home while they are Mr. GOODLATTE. Madam Chairman, against small and medium-sized busi- here working in the United States. I yield myself such time as I may con- nesses as well. These suits target a set- sume. tlement just under what it would cost f Today, we are here to consider H.R. for litigation, knowing that these busi- CONGRATULATING THE BATAVIA, 3309, the Innovation Act. The enact- nesses will want to avoid costly litiga- ILLINOIS, HIGH SCHOOL FOOT- ment of this bill is something I con- tion and probably pay up. The patent BALL TEAM sider central to U.S. competitiveness, system was never intended to be a playground for litigation extortion and (Mr. HULTGREN asked and was job creation, and our Nation’s future frivolous claims. given permission to address the House economic security. The bill takes meaningful steps to address the abu- The Innovation Act contains needed for 1 minute and to revise and extend reforms to address the issues that busi- his remarks.) sive practices that have damaged our patent system and resulted in signifi- nesses of all sizes and industries face Mr. HULTGREN. Madam Speaker, I from patent troll-type behavior, while rise to congratulate the Batavia High cant economic harm to our Nation. During the last Congress, we passed keeping in mind several key principles, School Bulldogs for winning their first the America Invents Act. Many view including targeting abusive behavior ever Illinois State football champion- the AIA as the most comprehensive rather than specific entities, pre- ship. overhaul to our patent system since serving valid patent enforcement tools, On Saturday, November 30, Batavia the 1836 Patent Act. However, the AIA preserving patent rights, promoting in- faced off against Richards High School, was, in many respects, a prospective vention by independents and small which shares the same nickname, in an bill. The problems that the Innovation businesses, and strengthening the over- epic battle of the Bulldogs. At NIU’s Act will solve are more immediate and all patent system. Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, an esti- go to the heart of current abusive pat- Congress, the Federal courts, and the mated 12,000 Batavia fans roared as ent litigation practices. PTO must take the necessary steps to Micah Coffey, the quarterback, threw This bill builds on our efforts over ensure that the patent system lives up for two touchdowns and running back the past decade. It can be said that this to its constitutional underpinnings, Anthony Scaccia ran for three more. bill is the product of years of work. We and let me be clear about Congress’ Both teams fought hard, but Batavia have worked with Members of both par- constitutional authority in this area. prevailed, capping their virtually ties in both the Senate and the House, The Constitution grants Congress the undefeated season with a 34–14 victory. with stakeholders from all areas of our power to create the Federal courts, and I commend Coach Dennis Piron and economy, and with the administration the Supreme Court has long recognized the entire Bulldogs team for the hard and the courts. that the prescription of court proce- work that went into a strong 13–1 sea- To ensure an open, deliberative, and dure falls within the legislative func- son and the IHSA Class 6A State cham- thoughtful process, we held several tion. pionship. Go Bulldogs. hearings and issued two public discus- To that end, the Innovation Act in- f sion drafts in May and September of cludes heightened pleading standards this year, which led to the formal in- and transparency provisions. Requiring INNOVATION ACT troduction of the Innovation Act in Oc- parties to do a bit of due diligence up GENERAL LEAVE tober. I strongly believe that the Inno- front before filing an infringement suit Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask vation Act takes the necessary steps to is just plain common sense. It not only unanimous consent that all Members address abusive patent litigation. reduces litigation expenses, but saves VerDate Mar 15 2010 00:19 Dec 06, 2013 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0636 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\K05DE7.004 H05DEPT1 smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with HOUSE H7512 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — HOUSE December 5, 2013 the courts’ time and resources. Greater rules and judicial changes that will Mr. CONYERS. Madam Chair, I yield transparency and information make make it more difficult for inventors to 3 minutes to the gentleman from Ken- our patent system stronger. protect their patent rights. tucky (Mr. MASSIE). The Innovation Act also provides for These changes are strongly opposed Mr. MASSIE. Madam Chair, I want to more clarity surrounding initial dis- by the Judicial Conference of the briefly tell you about a young boy who covery, case management, fee shifting, United States, the principal policy- grew up in modest surroundings in joinder, the common law doctrine of making body that Congress established rural Kentucky. customer stays, and protecting IP li- to administer our Federal court sys- Although he had no money, he was censes in bankruptcy. Further, the tem. inspired to invent. So he collected junk bill’s provisions are designed to work I have spent my entire career on Ju- to build his inventions—broken clocks, hand-in-hand with the procedures and diciary to help foster an independent radios, vacuum cleaners. Who knows, practices of the Judicial Conference, judiciary that can resolve disputes be- maybe one day he could assemble this including the Rules Enabling Act and tween parties on a fair and dis- junk into an invention that would the courts, providing them with clear passionate basis based on an even- allow him to pull himself out of his policy guidance while ensuring we are handed set of rules.