Obama Wants to Kill Patent Trolls, Here's What He Plans to Do

Patent trolls have become such a problem that even US President Barack Obama is taking time from not fulfilling his campaign promises, like closing Guantanamo Bay, and expanding the surveillance powers of the government, to tackle this issue.

The White House has made it clear that patent trolls hinder innovation and that the purpose of patent law is being subverted by these entities which exist only to extract money from companies actually building something.

Obviously, the White House can't really do much without the Congress behind it, which is why it's making seven recommendations for patent law reform.

But it's also taking five executive actions against patent trolls. The White House's moves are actually interesting and have the potential to make an impact, if only because they are so obvious.

One of the things the White House wants fixed is the way patents are described. Specifically, patent claims have to stick to the precise method of fixing a problem rather than trying to cover all ways of fixing said problem.

Another improvement is to require patent owners to update their records at the Patent Office, so the real and current owner of any patent can always be known.

Further, the White House wants to make it impossible for patent lawsuit to target end users, i.e. those who use a technology or product that may or may not be infringing as opposed to those who made that technology or product. This applies to small businesses, organizations, and individuals alike.

Also on the White House's agenda is better participation from experts and the interested community. Having people more knowledgeable in certain areas participate in the process would certainly raise the bar for patent approvals.

Finally, the White House wants more power in dealing with imported products that are found to infringe US patents.

Overall, the proposals look good, but the devil is in the details, which we don't have yet. Still, the best part is that these are things the White House can already make happen and probably will soon, without needing the Congress' approval.