Lawmakers Push To Fight Patent, Copyright Trolls

Lawmakers are considering proposals to stop so-called "patent trolls." They say people who fraudulently collect fines under the guise of protecting intellectual property are hurting small businesses.

"Patent trolls" and their lesser-known cousins, "copyright trolls," basically search for opportunities to make money by claiming someone has used a protected idea without permission.

Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) says many businesses would rather pay the "fine" a patent troll asks for, rather than fight back in court alone.

"The patent trolls have really taken advantage of small businesses that don't have the financial resources to hire a legal team to fight off these patent challenges," she said.

Read more at http://peoriapublicradio.org/post/lawmakers-push-fight-patent-copyright-trolls

A New Tool in the Battle Against Patent Trolls: Shame

With a federal crackdown on “patent trolls” stalled, startups and small companies are turning to a low-cost tactic to combat frivolous patent claims: shame.

Some entrepreneurs and business owners who receive letters from patent-holding entities that demand costly licensing fees, or threatening legal action, are posting the letters online.

They say the move is meant to embarrass the patent holders, whose claims can be vaguely worded and often far-fetched – such as claims over the use of technology in a standard office fax machine or the transfer of data by emails.

From http://stream.wsj.com/story/latest-headlines/SS-2-63399/SS-2-538741/

British executive accused in China drug bribery

To stifle competition ahead of the 2012 expiry of the patent for one of its drugs, GSK used bribes to ensure hospitals were using the drug exclusively, Gao said.

GSK also set up a special unit to fend off bribery investigations, he said. Employees had obstructed previous inquiries into possible misconduct by bribing investigators and other government officials.

In a separate statement, police in the central city of Changsha, where the investigation began, said Reilly and two Chinese executives also are accused of bribing government officials in Beijing and Shanghai.

Police in Changsha said last July that employees appeared to be trying to evade GSK’s internal anti-bribery controls by making payments totaling as much as 3 billion yuan ($490 million) to a travel agency that gave back at least part of that money.

One of the detained Chinese employees was shown on state television at that time describing how he paid bribes to government officials to win support for use of the company’s medications.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/may/14/british-executive-accused-in-china-drug-bribery/?page=2#ixzz31mhurFJ8