Controversial new USPTO Rules would empower Patent Trolls
What is the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) thinking of? The USPTO's new proposed rules sound good. It would "provide a less-expensive alternative to district court litigation to resolve certain patentability issues while also protecting against patentee harassment." Open-source legal experts, however, from the Unified Patents Open Source Zone, The Linux Foundation, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) the Open Invention Network (OIN) hear an entirely different message
When they listen closely, they hear a message that will encourage patent trolls, aka non-practicing entities (NPEs), increase patent litigation costs, and inflate the overall volume of patent litigation. We need this like a hole in the head.
Besides open-source, for example, pharmaceutical businesses use patents to keep the price of life-saving drugs high. According to a recent New York Times report. "The House Oversight Committee concluded that … twelve of the drugs that Medicare spends the most on are protected by more than 600 patents." These patents include such important changes as "making a tablet instead of a pill, changing the dose, adding a flavor. When it comes to protecting a drug monopoly, it seems no modification is too small."