Revised Patent Litigation Abuse Bill a Big Step Forward Last week, Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, released as second discussion draft patent bill that addresses the problems caused by litigation abuses brought by Patent Assertion entities, also referred to as patent trolls. The discussion draft is a revision of an earlier discussion draft. It includes provisions on pleading disclosures in patent infringement complaints, the awarding of attorneys’ fees, joinder of interested parties to a suit, limitations on the timing and costs associated with discovery, disclosure of real-parties-in-interest, revisions to the covered business methods program at the USPTO and several other changes and studies. SIIA welcomed the release of the patent reform discussion draft, recognizing the revised draft as a crucial legislative step toward achieving strong and effective patent litigation reform this year. More in Reuters.

The DPR has been on recess for most of August, we hope you missed us! Here’s a recap of highlights from August, and we will return to our regular weekly schedule next week.

Recent revelations about the National Security Agency’s (NSA) surveillance efforts have clearly changed the privacy landscape for the remainder of 2013, if not much longer. This is a complex policy issue with very broad implications.