Strong Opposition to Damages Provisions

The USPTO opposes current provisions in both bills limiting an inventor's rights to obtain damages. These damages provisions would currently limit the discretion of the federal courts in determining how damages are calculated to compensate a patent holder for patent infringement. Such a dramatic change from jurisprudence will reduce the rewards of innovation in many cases and encourage patent infringement. Given the vast IP-based economy at stake, we must make sure that patents maintain their appropriate market value. The U.S. patent system must continue to offer innovators the opportunity to be adequately rewarded and to recover their investments, so they will continue to innovate.

If the governments own agency opposes this key part of this legislation along with the current public outcry and a Presidential Veto in the wings, I'd say we are in VERY reasonable shape on this thing.

One other point I would like to ad in this regard is the percentage of contribution to the overall product. At the April SHM where the Leckrones pointed out that through reverse engineering most or all devices tested either would not work or were severely hindered to the point of inefficiency thereby proving a very high percentage of contribution to the overall product by the MMP. So the bill as it stands should NOT adversely affect the MMP even if made retroactive to all patents.

It is my contention that TPL's concerns going forward are not with the MMP but with other intellectual property that they are either managing for someone else or developing themselves. Also don't forget that this legislation is for new patents once the bill has passed and has been enacted into law.

I am curious about one thing though, why did the PTSC Executive Board Letter to share holders make such a big deal about it? Cause TPL asked them to??.....Hmmmm