President Barack Obama asked Congress on Tuesday to develop tougher measures against companies that routinely file patent lawsuits despite not offering any products, Reuters reports.
Diane Bartz writes his request comes as as U.S. courts and lawmakers consider ways to curb unwarranted suits over copyright infringement filed by those companies, deemed “patent trolls.”
Technology firms such as Apple, Cisco and Google have lobbied Congress for legislation aimed at reducing patent troll litigation, Bartz reports.
Reuters reports the White House asked lawmakers to approve measure that would let a federal judge award the winning party legal fees if a lawsuit was deemed abusive.
The White House also urged lawmakers to make it harder for the International Trade Commission to prohibit sales of technologies involved in patent cases as the ITC has lower standards than U.S. district courts, Bartz reports.
