US Congress Slams Patent System with Reform

Those who felt like patent trolls have been going a bit out of hand may finally have a cause to rejoice and grin now that the US Congress voted in favor of massive changes to USPTO.

The thing about the US patent system is that it is in such a way conceived that it allows for the filing of patents for things that shouldn't be allowed to be patented at all.

Another things about it is that it makes it quite easy for such things as patent trolls to appear, those being companies that file patents just so they can get payments from (or sue) those IT players who use technologies they supposedly own.

Fortunately, the US Senate has finally taken upon the task of reforming the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

The new bill, the most drastic of the past five decades, will let patents be awarded to the first person to file with the USPTO instead of the one who invented a technology (this is in line with other countries' method).

There will also be a more streamlined application process and the USPTO will be allowed to charge set fees for all apps.

The resulting revenue will mostly stay in the USPTO's hands, where it will be used for, among other things, a new, third-party challenge system that will eliminate patents that should have never been approved at all.

Needless to say, there were those who objected to the motion, like InterDigital and Tessera, both of them companies that thrive more on patent licenses than actual, creative output.

Of course, with how their existence practically relies on lawsuits and broad patents, this is no surprise.

The new law (America Invents Act) was approved by an 89-8 majority vote and only has to receive the approval of president Obama.

What remains is to see if this will do anything to make it any harder for Apple (among others) to keep suing every tablet and smartphone maker in sight.