The Texas House Technology Committee has found it necessary to draft state legislation to address “patent abuses” to prohibit the extortion of businesses, but noted the legislation must also protect legitimate patent holders and encourage innovation.
The committee was tasked in 2014 to consider whether abuses in the patent system interfered with business opportunity and innovation, and whether the state could address such problems. The committee’s December 2014 interim report, released on Jan. 8, said it doesn’t have any formal proposal yet because three legal organizations—Texans for Lawsuit Reform, the Texas Civil Justice League and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association—are still working together to draft the legislation, with input from patent-holding businesses.
