Hosts anniversary event featuring the law’s champions
Sen. Leahy and former Rep. Smith
Washington, DC - 
(NewMediaWire) - September 16, 2021 - Today
marks the 10th anniversary of the America Invents Act (AIA), which was
shepherded into law by the then U.S. Senate and House Judiciary Committee
Chairmen Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Lamar Smith (R-TX), respectively. Next
Wednesday, September 22nd, members of the U.S. Manufacturers Association for
Development and Enterprise (US*MADE), in conjunction with the Alliance for
Automotive Innovation, will co-host Sen. Leahy and former Rep. Smith at an
event to celebrate this milestone. The decade of changes in patent quality and
litigation trends since 2011 will be reviewed, and attendees will hear from the
law’s leading sponsors about how they see the AIA’s effects on innovation.
The event will also feature an
interactive panel with Harvard Business School Professor Lauren Cohen; former
Acting USPTO Director and Solicitor Joe Matal; Hughes Network Systems IP
Counsel Cory Myers, a US*MADE member; and Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Asst. GC for IP and Litigation Charles “Chuck” Hawkins, a member of the
Alliance for Automotive Innovation. The panelists will explore the impact the
AIA has had on the patent system and manufacturers in America over the last
decade and map out the challenges for the future.
“The America Invents Act was the
most significant reform of our patent system in over 50 years and its role in
improving patent quality and reducing litigation abuse cannot be overstated,”
said Beau Phillips, Executive Director of US*MADE. “Inventors and innovators of
every stripe owe a debt of gratitude to Senator Leahy, former Chairman Smith,
and every lawmaker who in a thoughtful, entirely bipartisan way helped pass the
AIA into law.”
For the first time in years,
abusive patent litigation is again on the rise, according to RPX Corporation.
“It’s time for the Patent
Office to renew its commitment to the AIA and follow the clear and obvious
Congressional intent of the law by ending the explosion in discretionary
denials the PTAB has issued over the last 24 months,” Phillips said. “Before
the arbitrary and questionable imposition of the PTAB’s Fintiv and NHK rulings,
American manufacturers could hire, innovate, produce products and order new
machinery with confidence that bad patents could be challenged. Today, that is
no longer the case. They continue to face a minefield of frivolous infringement
litigation risk from non-practicing entities (NPEs), who do not manufacture or
sell products or services, nor create jobs.”
Phillips added, “U.S.
manufacturers, which generate about 11% of U.S. GDP and employ tens of millions
of Americans, are especially hard hit by misuse of the patent system, as
frequent targets of NPEs. American manufacturers deserve protection against bad
patents.”
To register for US*MADE’s event
celebrating the 10th anniversary of the AIA, go to https://bit.ly/3CcSTe5.
For more information about abusive patent litigation and the threat to U.S.
manufacturers, visit https://us-made.org/.
About US*MADE
US Manufacturers Association
for Development and Enterprise (US*MADE) is specifically focused on protecting
manufacturers from abusive patent litigation. Manufacturers are frequent
targets of patent litigation by shell companies that produce no products or
services. Job-creating manufacturers are shaken down for hefty royalty payments
by plaintiffs wielding vague, low-quality patents that likely should have never
been issued by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). To learn more, go to https://us-made.org/.
For
more information, contact:
Lauren DuBois
(917) 573-2485
Lauren@US-MADE.org
