The sweeping patent reform law enacted last September cheered critics of so-called “patent trolls,” but those opponents have since realized it’s too soon for a victory lap.
The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act includes a provision stating that multidefendant patent infringement cases must involve the same product or process and common fact questions. Congress included the provision to rein in suits brought by patent trolls — companies that use patents solely to demand licensing revenue and sue opponents who won’t pay — that named multiple unrelated defendants.
