The two U.S. Supreme Court decisions issued Tuesday that will give district courts more leeway in awarding attorney fees to prevailing parties in patent suits are being used as ammunition by opponents of a patent reform bill slated to be debated this week in the Senate, but others are urging legislators to pass a reform bill nonetheless.
“Today’s decision by the Supreme Court makes clear that major new legislative initiatives on fee shifting are unnecessary,” said Brian Pomper, executive director of Innovation Alliance, a group lobbying against pending patent reform legislation. “The decision significantly lowers the threshold for fee shifting in patent cases; demonstrates the federal courts’ capacity and willingness to address difficult litigation procedural issues; and removes a key driver of the patent legislation Congress has been considering.”
