First, The Coalition for Patent Fairness -

The Coalition for Patent Fairness today issued the following statement, attributable to Roger Kennedy, Chief Patent Counsel, Oracle Corporation:

“The Supreme Court today heard oral arguments in the case of KSR International v. Teleflex. By choosing to hear this patent case, the highest court in the land is signaling its belief that there are serious imbalances in our nation’s patent litigation system. The many companies and industries that make up the Coalition for Patent Fairness agree. Inventors, consumers and businesses large and small will benefit from bright legal lines drawn by the court.

“Today’s action comes just months after the court corrected another major imbalance in the patent litigation system with its ruling in the eBay case. The Court’s willingness to hear arguments on KSR, when taken into consideration with the court’s action in the eBay case earlier this year, clearly demonstrates a desire by the Justices to shape up the patent litigation system.

“Reforming the patent system is a two sided coin that includes addressing both abusive patent litigation and improving patent quality. The Justices’ clarification of what qualifies as an obvious patent will result in higher quality patents and, hopefully, a reduction in frivolous litigation. A broad spectrum of supporters sided with KSR International including the U.S. Solicitor General, independent law professors, industry leaders and even the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s own lead attorney.

“While we are hopeful about the Court’s coming ruling, only Congress can enact legislation to fully reform and strengthen our patent system. Legislation to make America more competitive is currently pending in the U.S. Senate. It would strengthen innovation and protect American jobs by reforming our nation’s patent system. Abusive litigation would be reduced by eliminating venue shopping, creating a true test for willful infringement, making apportionment of damages fair and realistic, and repealing current law that actually encourages U.S. companies to move jobs and research dollars overseas. While we welcome the Supreme Court’s efforts on patent reform, the wider community of intellectual property holders looks forward to congressional action to reduce excessive and frivolous patent litigation.”

About the Coalition for Patent Fairness

The Coalition for Patent Fairness is a growing group of companies and trade associations committed to common-sense reforms to the patent system and patent litigation. Representing a broad range of companies and trade associations in the technology, financial services, energy, manufacturing and media industries, the Coalition’s members include Apple, Autodesk, Business Software Alliance, Cisco Systems, Comcast, Dell, Electrolux, Financial Services Roundtable, Hewlett-Packard, Information Technology Industry Council, Intel, Intuit, Micron Technology, Microsoft, Oracle, TechNet, Time Warner, and Visa.

Here's Ronald J. Riley of the The Professional Inventors Alliance (PIAUSA) -

The companies who are operating under the misnomer Coalition for Patent Fairness are doing their best to eviscerate America's patent system to avoid the consequences of their politely put unauthorized use of inventors' property.

This group should be referred to as the "Coalition for Patent Piracy". Patent Pirates pillage others' property and rape America's inventors. Is it any wonder that that such conduct transforms those inventors into the mythical big, ugly, nasty trolls who extract retribution for such conduct? Is anyone surprised that patent pirates fail to acknowledge or accept responsibility for the situations which they have brought upon themselves? Isn't it interesting how such groups always pick names which suggest they are the opposite of what they really are? The Coalition for Patent Piracy's idea of fair is being able to take others inventions for little or no compensation.

The Coalition has four pillars of support.

1) Washed up tech companies who are well past their prime. While they started as innovative companies they are no longer able to produce significant inventions themselves, and arrogantly take others inventions. These are companies who were "high tech" two or three decades ago but today are just mercantile tech. These companies suffer the same problems as the auto industry, and while their ailment is not as advanced as the auto industry they will within a few decades suffer the same fate as the auto industry. PIAUSA would be happy to compare and contrast this issue for media.

2) Some of the members of the Coalition were never innovative, companies like Microsoft and Dell. Shrewd business people who are very good at profiting from other's inventions but definitely not the brightest bulbs in the pack.

3) The insurance industry, who are really put out that they have to pay innovators with business method patents. The insurance industry reminds me of protection rackets. They are really good at collecting premiums and even better at avoiding paying. Just look to Katrina victims for an example of the industry's immorality.

4) The banking industry, who is also put out that they have to pay innovators with business method patents. About the only thing the banking industry is good at inventing is ever larger and more outrageous fees. Americans who value job creation should shift their business to credit unions.

PIAUSA.org received intelligence some time ago that the "Coalition of Patent Piracy" had organized and hired two firms to feed media propaganda. We were told that each of the members had contributed a quarter of a million dollars to the cause of painting those they have victimized as evil patent trolls. That's over ten million dollars in propaganda. Media has been had by the Coalition's public relations machine. We have seen the results of that coalition's work over the past year. The Coalition knows no shame and as a result of their extreme and shrill positions on intellectual property they have become outcasts among most of corporate America.

Many patent pirates like to be referred to as high tech. Two or three decades ago this may have been an appropriate description but today they are no longer high tech. In my opinion, some like Dell and Microsoft were never especially innovative and while others started as innovators they are past their prime and are no longer produce significant inventions. In fact they have acquired reputations as predators on today's innovators, and as a result inventors take their inventions to other companies who have better reputations. Between patent pirates inability to invent themselves and their alienation of those who do invent it is inevitable that they will continue to stagnate.

Our legislators have recognized the value of promoting competitiveness and the role inventors play in promoting prosperity while failing to recognize the importance of inventors ability to enforce their patent rights. The single most important factor in America maintaining our standard of living in the face of global competition is our intellectual property. At the same time that we desperately need the jobs and tax base which inventors create the "Coalition for Patent Pirates" are using a disinformation campaign to promote changes to our laws undermining America's collective economic future for their own profit.

America's economy has always been driven by our inventiveness. In the past we have profited by making our inventions. Today both our foreign competitors and our own disloyal multinationals conspire to take our inventiveness for their own profit. It is a fact that intellectual property has become the most valuable commodity of global commerce. If America and other developed countries are to maintain our standard of living in the face of low wage global competition is is crucial that we protect our inventions and those who produce them from the Coalition for Patent Piracy's members. When a patent pirate gets away with taking an invention the damage goes far beyond what the inventor suffers. Americans lose jobs and tax base when patent pirates take American ingenuity to low wage countries.

George Santayana (1863–1952), U.S. philosopher and poet said "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." It is clear that this is a lesson that the Coalition for Patent Piracy has not learned. If they understood the history they would know that despite the best efforts of patent pirates to pass self serving "reform" throughout the 1990's they achieved little. The reason is that hired guns never have the same convictions or motivation which people who have been victimized have. No amount political contributions or other incentives are worth the retribution which will be extracted at the polls.

What are the true effects of so called Patent reform?

1) Increases the costs of small entity patent holders, often by at about two orders of magnitude.
2) Shifts costs from large corporate infringers to the small entity.
3) Opens new causes for large entities to litigate.
4) Will make our patent system subject to a multitude of patent system abuses common in Japan which very much favors big companies.
5) Delays the possibility of start-ups obtaining investment capital by effectively increasing pendency.
6) Increases the power and potential abuse of such power by the USPTO which has become increasingly politicized.
7) Lowers the potential recovery for a patentee by at least one to two orders of magnitude.
8) It will not decrease the role of attorneys or litigation, but rather will increase their role and legal expenses in a multitude of ways.
9) Will lead to much higher filing rates for patents which will further bog down the USPTO.
10) Allows foreign competitors to take American inventions with impunity. This will damage all American businesses.

In his email, Ron then listed the corporations and associations backing the Coalition for Patent Fairness: computer technology and financial (banking, insurance) firms aplenty, and not a single bio-technology company or pharmaceutical firm.