WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Application Developers Alliance announced today it has joined United for Patent Reform (UPR), a diverse group of businesses working to ensure that Congress passes strong, comprehensive patent reform that protects American innovation and investment.
“The Alliance is excited to join this super-coalition of American business lobbying for legislation to combat patent troll abuse,” said Application Developers Alliance President Jon Potter. “The formation of UPR signals that patent reform is a top priority across diverse industries.
United for Patent Reform developed out of the notion that fraudulent patent abuse and extortion are now widespread issues impacting the U.S. economy. Its broad member base includes major patent reform advocates such as Amazon, Facebook, the National Restaurant Association and JCPenney.
The Application Developers Alliance is a critical voice in the reform debate, advocating for legislative reforms that undermine the patent troll business model without harming legitimate patent enforcement. The Apps Alliance supports policies that will protect America’s innovators and short-circuit frivolous litigation, address the imbalance in litigation burdens, and ensure transparency and specificity in demand letters and complaints.
There are thousands of companies targeted by patent trolls each year, and 55% of troll victims have annual revenues of $10 million or less. The Apps Alliance will work together with United for Patent Reform to provide insight and resources to move the patent reform agenda forward.
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The Application Developers Alliance is a non-profit global membership organization that supports developers as creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs. We promote industry growth and advocate on public policy and industry issues. The Apps Alliance, which now includes more than 200 corporate members and a 50,000-strong developer network, launched in January of 2012 and initiated European services in early 2014. Membership includes app publishers, developer agencies, platforms, wireless carriers, hardware manufacturers, ad networks, enterprise tools and service providers.