releases: https://web.archive.org/web/20140221112526/http://hanabusa.house.gov/press-release/hanabusa-votes-protect-businesses-abusive-patent-infringement-lawsuits
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://web.archive.org/web/20140221112526/http://hanabusa.house.gov/press-release/hanabusa-votes-protect-businesses-abusive-patent-infringement-lawsuits | Hanabusa Votes to Protect Businesses from Abusive Patent Infringement Lawsuits | 2013-12-05 | 2013 | 2013-12 | Democrat | House | HI | Colleen Hanabusa | H001050 | web.archive.org | legacy | Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representative Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01) voted in favor of a patent reform bill that aims to reduce abusive patent litigation practices, while promoting transparency in the process. H.R. 3309 modifies the patent infringement litigation process in order to discourage “patent trolls” from abusing the system by filing lawsuits in hopes of getting money from forcing defendants into a quick legal settlement. “Patent trolls” are non-practicing entities that acquire broad patents not to commercialize them, but to earn licensing revenues from others who have done so. “Abusive patent infringement lawsuits financially burden businesses and entrepreneurs, discourage innovation, and weaken the U.S. patent system,” said Hanabusa. “While I have some concerns with H.R. 3309, I believe this bipartisan bill takes important steps toward reducing senseless patent litigation and invalidating low-quality patents, while creating more transparency in the process. “The Congressional Research Service reports that it can costs businesses millions of dollars to defend patent infringement cases, with more than half the costs occurring in the discovery phase; a quick settlement often seems their best option, regardless of the merits of the case. These are funds that the companies could be dedicating to jobs, groundbreaking research, and product development. I look forward to working with my colleagues to further improve our nation’s patent reform laws.” The bill would have eliminated a patent applicant’s right to appeal an adverse decision from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and closed off court access, but an amendment, offered by Rep. Dana Rohrabacher(R-CA), restored the applicant’s ability to appeal the decision to U.S. District Court. These types of appeals are rare, but are important because it gives the applicant the ability to introduce new evidence that could not otherwise be considered in deciding the patentability of an invention. Hanabusa voted in favor of the amendment. H.R. 3309 passed the House by a vote of 325-91 and now heads to the Senate. The Obama Administration supports the measure. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |