As further proof that patent reform and patent troll issues are in the national focus, John Oliver spent ten minutes discussing the patent troll problem on his (excellent) Last Week Tonight HBO program, last night.  As usual, Oliver is spot on and hilarious.  One nice touch, Oliver’s patent title:  Computer Thing That Never Works.  Here

Reactions to the Supreme Court’s CLS Bank v. Alice decision were mixed on both sides of the debate.  Everyone seemed to agree that software patents were not dead, but whether the decision would change the software patent landscape was unclear.  Just three months later, however, there is good news for retailers.  Both the Federal Circuit

Patent trolls, and patent plaintiffs generally, were active on Wednesday. April 23.  184 cases were filed on Wednesday, by numerous plaintiffs, including Signal IP, various Joao Bock entities, Interface IP, PanTaurus, Olivistar, TQP Development, eDekka, and c4cast.  Of course, it could just be a bizarre coincidence, but as Dennis Crouch points out at Patently-O,

The Main Street Patent Coalition has formed as a group of trade associations representing main street-type businesses has come together to give voice the epidemic of patent trolls targeting retailers and other Main Street businesses and to push Congress for necessary reforms.  The Coalition includes key retail trade associations including:

This morning, the House of Representatives passed the Innovation Act (also known as the Goodlatte bill) by a vote of 325-91.  A number of amendments that would have gutted or watered down the bill were defeated.

Key provisions of the Innovation Act, as passed, include:

  • Heightened pleading requirements:  A complaint must identify the asserted claims

The Electronic Freedom Foundation, along with sponsors including the Consumer Electronics Association, has created the Trolling Effects project to help companies defend against troll.  The Trolling Effects website houses a database of troll demand letters.  It has the opportunity to become a valuable tool for shedding light on patent trolls.  If companies begin to send