NRF, Oracle form patent reform coalition

Washington, D.C. - The National Retail Federation (NRF) is launching United for Patent Reform, a new coalition co-chaired by NRF and Oracle and comprised of grocery, hotel, retail, restaurant and technology associations and companies. The coalition will pursue patent reform legislation aimed at curbing abuse of the patent system by “patent trolls.”



Patent trolls are firms that buy overly-obscure, general or vague patents with the sole purpose of extracting licensing arrangements and settlement payments by threatening businesses and companies with claims of patent infringement. The trolls’ hope is that businesses would rather settle or pay a licensing fee instead of hiring attorneys to review infringement claims or fight back in court. The Boston University School of Law estimates that abusive patent troll practices cost the U.S. economy roughly $30 billion per year.



The United for Patent Reform coalition released a letter today outlining its seven core principles:



• Demand Letter Transparency

• Heightened Pleading Requirements

• Customer and End User Protections

• Litigation Procedures Efficiency

• Discovery Fee-Shifting

• Legal Fee Recovery

• Litigation Alternatives



“The nation’s retailers stand united with leading technology companies in the fight against patent trolls,” NRF senior VP for government relations David French said. “Patent trolls have abused our patent system with their coercive bribery schemes for far too long. Main Street businesses and our allies in Silicon Valley have had enough and are fighting back in an all-out effort against patent trolls Retailers look forward to working with reform-minded lawmakers and other stakeholders on this pro-business, pro-jobs issue.