Statement by the High Tech Inventors Alliance in support of legislation introduced by Senators Cotton and McCaskill on the issue of Sovereign Immunity

WASHINGTON, March 7, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The High Tech Inventors Alliance (HTIA) applauds Senators Cotton and McCaskill for introducing legislation addressing the issue of patents and Sovereign Immunity of Native American tribes. 

This legislation respects the historical understanding of tribal sovereignty while allowing the Patent Office to continue unhindered in reexamining its work where appropriate and canceling patent awards that should not have been issued through the Inter Partes Review (IPR) Program.  In addition to reinforcing PTO's ongoing effort to improve patent quality, IPR also serves as an important mechanism to deter abusive litigation that is often based on invalid patents. 

Two weeks ago, the Patent Trial and Appeals Board (PTAB) ruled that tribal sovereign immunity does not bar the Inter Partes Review of patents that have been transferred to tribes in an attempt to evade Patent Office review.  The PACED Act would confirm the correctness of that decision.

The High Tech Inventors Alliance is comprised of eight technology companies: Adobe, Amazon, Cisco, Dell, Google, Intel, Oracle and Salesforce. These companies have over 447,000 employees in the United States, have invested $62.9 billion in research and development in the past year and hold a total of over 115,000 U.S. patents.

SOURCE High Tech Inventors Alliance