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EFF - Electronic Frontier Foundation
ACTION ALERT
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These Two Bills Will Revive The Worst Patents We’ve Seen
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A patent on crowdfunding. A patent on tracking packages.
A patent on photo contests. A patent on watching an ad online.
A patent on computer bingo. A patent on upselling.
These are just a few of the patents used to harass software
developers and small companies in recent years. Thankfully,
they were tossed out by U.S. courts, thanks to the landmark
2014 Supreme Court decision in Alice v. CLS Bank. The Alice
ruling has effectively ended hundreds of lawsuits where
defendants were improperly sued for basic computer use.
TELL CONGRESS: DON'T REVIVE THE WORST PATENTS
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Now, patent trolls and a few huge corporate patent-holders
are so upset about losing their bogus patents. They are lobbying
Congress to change the rules–and reverse the Alice decision
entirely. Shockingly, they’ve convinced the Senate Judiciary
Committee to vote this Thursday on two of the most damaging
patent bills we’ve ever seen.
The Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA) would overturn Alice,
enabling patent trolls to extort small business owners and even
hobbyists, just for using common software systems to express
themselves or run their businesses. PERA would also overturn
another 2013 Supreme Court case that prevents most kinds of
patenting of human genes.
Meanwhile, the PREVAIL Act seeks to severely limit how the public
can challenge bad patents at the patent office. Challenges like
these are one of the most effective ways to throw out patents
that never should have been granted in the first place.
This week, we need to show Congress that everyday users and
creators won’t stand for laws that actually expand avenues for patent abuse.
The U.S. Senate must not pass new legislation to allow the worst
patent scams to expand and flourish.
TELL CONGRESS: DON'T REVIVE THE WORST PATENTS
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Yours,
Joe Mullin
EFF Activism Team
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Activism | Impact Litigation | Technology
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About EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. We promote digital innovation, defend free speech, fight illegal surveillance, and protect rights and freedoms for all as our use of technology grows. Find out more at [link removed]
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