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Congress wants to reform a quasi-judicial tribunal that\u00a0Big\u00a0Tech\u00a0firms have weaponized to attack their smaller rivals. Those\u00a0Big Tech\u00a0firms are rightfully worried that the reform legislation will prevent them from stealing smaller companies\u2019\u00a0technologies without compensation and then exhausting the smaller firms with never-ending legal challenges at the tribunal.<\/p>\n
Congress created the Patent Trial and Appeal Board in 2011 with good intentions. Lawmakers hoped it would be a faster, cheaper forum to resolve disputes about patent validity compared to the federal courts.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately,\u00a0Big\u00a0Tech\u00a0companies almost immediately weaponized the tribunal. After infringing the patents of less-established rivals,\u00a0tech\u00a0giants repeatedly challenge the underlying validity of those patents at the PTAB\u2014while at the same time making the same challenges in federal court. They do this to wear down small inventors, who usually lack the resources to defend their IP against an onslaught of parallel and repetitive challenges.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To fix this problem, Congress has introduced a bipartisan bill called the PREVAIL Act, which would crack down on abusive patent challenges and ban duplicative litigation at the PTAB and in federal court.<\/p>\n
Opponents claim that PREVAIL will somehow raise drug prices by making it easier to defend\u00a0pharmaceutical patents and block the introduction of cheaper generics.\u00a0But given how few drug patents are challenged at all at the PTAB, it\u2019s clear this argument is a stalking horse for\u00a0Big\u00a0Tech\u2019s real concerns about the bill. Besides, PREVAIL does not prevent any defense against a patent\u2014it just prevents the same defense from being made multiple times, which only serves to drain resources and weaken legitimate patents.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Obviously,\u00a0Big\u00a0Tech\u00a0lobbyists can\u2019t advance a principled basis to defend intellectual property theft. \u201cLet us keep stealing, it\u2019s great!\u201d is hardly a winning argument. So, instead, they\u2019re trying to discredit the reform bill by arguing that it\u2019ll lead to higher prescription drug costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fortunately, new data from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which we both previously ran under Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, debunks this myth. From September 2012 to March 2024, only 3% of all challenges at the tribunal involved patents covering brand-name\u00a0pharmaceuticals.\u00a0And just 2% of challenges involved patents for biologic drugs.<\/p>\n
Simply put, the PTAB isn\u2019t a significant battleground for drug patents. The vast majority of PTAB challenges involve electronics and computer\u00a0technology. Strong patents catalyze innovation across virtually all high-tech\u00a0industries. Lawmakers can\u2019t allow falsehoods to sink PREVAIL. Passing this legislation is critical to ensure the U.S. remains competitive in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and engineering.\u00a0Startups and small firms are often at the forefront of developing such\u00a0technologies, but they\u2019ll never succeed if corporate behemoths can plunder their ideas and bully them with repetitive litigation when they fight back.<\/p>\n
If we let the U.S. patent system deteriorate, we risk relinquishing our place as a global\u00a0technological leader, endangering U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.<\/p>\n
PREVAIL would create a level playing field where small businesses have a fighting chance against established industry giants. To defend our geopolitical standing and economic prosperity, Congress should pass it immediately\u2014and ignore false and misleading talking points.<\/p>\n
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of\u00a0<\/em>Fortune.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\nRecommended reading:<\/strong>
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