Yesterday a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee heard testimony from Michelle Lee, Acting Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO). The hearing was a chance for the PTO to update Congress on its implementation of the America Invents Act of 2011.
Watch video of the hearing here.
Lee told the subcommittee that the PTO is working to increase efficiency, improve the quality of patent examinations, and increase transparency. She also described how the PTO has made operational changes in the wake of recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and emphasized that comprehensive patent reform legislation is still urgently needed.
While better patent examinations will help reduce the number of vague and overly broad patents approved in the future, patent trolls are already armed with previously issued, poor-quality patents. Congress should act to finally put an end to the patent troll problem.
Read Alliance President Jon Potter’s recent guest post on The Hill’s Congress Blog calling for comprehensive patent reform.
