Professor Lee Comments on Patent Trial and Appeals Board for San Francisco Chronicle
Professor Peter Lee commented for the San Francisco Chronicle on the Patent Trial and Appeals Board created by Congress in 2011 to help resolve patent disputes without going to court. The board, made up of administrative patent judges, has aggressively invalidated patent claims, particularly those held by so-called "patent trolls," companies that amass large patent portfolios but do not manufacture any products, relying on licensing fees and the threat of infringement suits to obtain income.
"It's not surprising a lot of the big tech companies" are using the board, Lee said. "They are the ones most hurt by bad patents." Although "it's still early in the game," the board "looks promising," he added.
Professor Lee's scholarly work addresses the intersection of science and society, particularly exploring the patent system's impact on scientific and technological progress.
San Francisco Chronicle