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Posted

Hooray!

Patent Infringement Reform

Passage - Vote Passed (325-91, 15 Not Voting)

In the last vote of the week, the House passed legislation on Friday that would change how patent infringement lawsuits are conducted in an attempt to reduce the actions of "patent trolls," individuals or companies who acquire patents primarily to sue others for infringement. The bill would require plaintiffs to provide detailed information when filing lawsuits including how the accused is violating the patent. The bill passed with bipartisan support. 195 Republicans and 130 Democrats voted in favor of the legislation. The Senate Judiciary Committee has already scheduled a hearing on a similar version on December 17.

Posted

Thanks. Found the text of the Bill. Now it's 'wait and see' if the Senate will pass it too.

Whereas the plaintiff can now force the defendant to submit the ammo the plaintiff needs, the law would require the plaintiff to submit details of the violation before a judge will allow action on the defendant, as I understand this law.

Marc

  • 1 month later...
Posted

To all,

I've been quite busy and would like to update everyone on what is going on with the patent issues regarding infrared. There are developments on a number of fronts. As noted in this thread, the house has passed a bill and now the senate is working on a similar bill which will eventually be reconciled and passed. This is one of the few bills in congress that is receiving bipartisan support. I'm not sure if anyone noticed but POTUS mentioned the Patent Troll issue in the State of the Union Address. Everything appears to be aligned and as soon as the bill is passed, it appears to have pre approval from the White House.

One of the key provisions will be fee shifting. A plaintiff will first be required to submit a bond assuring payment of the defendants legal costs if they lose the action. Another key provision is the requirement for greater due diligence on the plaintiff's part. The plaintiff will have a greater responsibility to show evidence of infringement. In HomeSafe's case they filed demand letters based on the fact that an inspector offers IR on their website. This won't be acceptable under the likely provisions of the final bill.

In any case, ASHI's lobbyist is on the job working with a large coalition to move this through the legislative process.

At the state level there is also a great deal of activity. In December 43 State Attorney's Generals submitted a letter to the Secretary of the Federal Trade Commission voicing strong support for the Secretary's proposed investigations on patent trolls. It is my understanding that FTC investigations are underway.

Since I work in North Alabama, I am a stones throw away from Oxford, MS, HomeSafe's resident location. Anticipating possible action from HomeSafe, I have been working with local authorities to strengthen state law as it pertains to the aggressive claims of Patent trolls. State Senators from my area have pushed through legislation giving the attorney general the authority to investigate and prosecute patent trolls who may attack Alabama business. The law was patterned after the Vermont law on the subject. A few weaknesses have been identified in the original Vermont law that were corrected in the Alabama bill.

The attorney general has asked any business that are attacked by patent trolls to contact his office. I've attached a letter from his office.

In addition, ASHI has provided start up funds for an independent Not for Profit Corporation, IR FREEDOM, Inc. The business operations are being established and I am the President of the organization. We are currently completing our business plan and have corporate donors making pledges of support. We will also have a website up soon and will be soliciting donations from individuals and companies who want to defend free markets in the infrared sector.

I do hope all of you will support this effort.

Finally, here is a link to a news story on the subject from a North Alabama CBS station.

http://whnt.com/2014/02/03/patent-troll ... stigation/

Just to drive home the point, Patent Trolls are a real problem across all sectors of the economy. Cutting deals with them is not the way to resolve the problem. By working through the legislative system, the law enforcement agencies and by joining together, we can permanently put this problem to rest for the infrared community.

Please join me as we fight for IR FREEDOM!

Download Attachment: icon_adobe.gif Alabama Attorney General PR.pdf

147.73 KB

Posted

All good news.

My appreciation for all the hard work you're doing for our profession and for keeping us posted.

Looking forward to pitchin' in.

Marc

Posted

An entity has secured a legally binding patent designed for the sole purpose of 'milking the cow', the 'cow' being inspectors, including home inspectors, who use an IR camera to assess houses for moisture intrusion issues. This thread is about a new law (the bill you speak of) and the efforts of group of HI's to battle that entity and render null that patent.

Marc

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