Today, Rep. Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) introduced the “End Anonymous Patents Act,” which would require disclosure of the real party in interest of a patent upon issuance or, in cases where patents are transferred, within a short time after acquisition.
The bill is a significant step forward in addressing one of the problems of the current U.S. patent system: recording ownership in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s assignment database is at present voluntary. The result of this is that records of patent ownership are often inaccurate and incomplete.
“Some patent owners take advantage of this obscurity to try to hide what they own for tactical advantage in licensing negotiations or to avoid complying with patent licensing commitments,” writes Microsoft Deputy General Counsel Horacio Gutierrez in a blog post today over on Microsoft on the Issues.
To get the rest of this story, head on over to Microsoft on the Issues.
Jeff Meisner
Microsoft News Center Staff