August 29, 2011 - Once it has returned from its month-long recess, the Senate is expected to hold a vote September 6 on whether to pass the House's version of the America Invents Act, which passed in June.
But some tech industry groups fear that the legislation will "do little to divert money away from patent litigation and toward innovation," according to a Reuters article published on Insurance Journal.
Those in the tech industry feel that patent litigation is out of control, and wanted the patent system reformed to "stem the flood of legal challenges" facing tech companies.
“The tech sector wanted patent reform to offer alternatives to litigation. Instead, they have extensions of the patent process itself. That’s fine for other industries, but not for tech,” Brian Kahin, of the tech trade group Computer and Communications Industry Association, says in the article.
“We’re going to see more litigation not less. For example, 2011 is looking like it’s going to be the biggest patent litigation year on record,” said Joshua Walker, head of LexMachina, which tracks patent litigation. “I don’t think the patent reform bill will slow that.”