Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Chair of senate antitrust subcommittee asks FTC to investigate “patent trolls”, (Jun 26, 2013)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

In a letter to the FTC today, Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, urged the agency to use its antitrust and consumer protection authority “to address the abusive practices of patent assertion entities (PAEs) that are a drag on innovation, competition, and our economy.” The subcommittee intends to hold a hearing on issues related to the intersection of antitrust and patent law next month.

Klobuchar is concerned that PAEs, also referred to as “patent trolls” by their critics, may stifle innovation and hurt the economy by abusing patent litigation to threaten companies and extract settlements based on questionable claims. The senator contends that PAEs have exhibited behavior that is anti-consumer and harmful to innovation.

Klobuchar called on the FTC to quickly undertake a study of the costs and benefits of PAE activity, which was recently proposed by FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. In addition, she specifically suggested that the FTC examine PAEs that have been targeting end-users of commonly used technology, including Wi-Fi and document scanning, with threatening letters claiming infringement of an unspecified patent and demanding royalty payments under the threat of a lawsuit.

“From the Post-it Note to the Pacemaker, intellectual property is critical to the success of businesses in Minnesota and across the country,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “But too many bad actors are bringing up frivolous patent claims, creating a drag on innovation for companies of all sizes. I will continue to fight to improve our patent system and ensure that it is used to promote innovation and protect intellectual property.”

News: Antitrust FederalTradeCommissionNews