WASHINGTON, DC – The App Developers Alliance strongly supports the United States Patent and Trademark Office decision to create a patent quality leadership position, and the selection of Valencia Martin to be the first Deputy Commissioner for Patent Quality.
Statement from App Developers Alliance President, Jon Potter:
“Today’s decision to create a new position dedicated to patent quality is a significant step forward for developers, innovators and all businesses harmed by patent trolls.
“The historic problem of poor quality patents is reflected in the thousands of vague and overly broad patents that have been arming trolls for years. Junk patents allow trolls to extort businesses, costing our economy billions.
“We strongly agree with Deputy Director Lee, that this new position and the PTO’s forward-looking focus on patent quality does not diminish the need for comprehensive patent reform legislation. In order to protect job-creators and the economy we need policies that short-circuit frivolous patent litigation, address the imbalance in litigation burdens, and ensure transparency and specificity in demand letters. We urge Congress to protect our economy and pass patent reform laws now.”
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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.
