WASHINGTON – The Information Technology Industry Council (ITI), the global voice for the technology sector's leading companies, issued the following statement from President and CEO Dean Garfield applauding the introduction of the Innovation Act, a bipartisan bill sponsored by Reps. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA), Peter DeFazio (D-OR), Darrell Issa (R-CA), Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA), Lamar Smith (R-TX), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Jerry Nadler (D-NY) to address the growing problem of abusive patent litigation commonly referred to as "patent trolls":

“Unlike innovators who create, patent trolls exist to exploit flaws in our patent laws with dubious claims to sue legitimate startups and technology companies for billions of dollars each year. The bipartisan patent reform bill introduced today would put the brakes on trolls and their dash for cash. Instead of frivolous lawsuits, that money could be better spent on research into new breakthroughs that result in new jobs being created.

“Last year, both Democrats and Republicans in the House worked together to pass the Innovation Act with overwhelming support. We’re encouraged to see that bipartisanship on display again today, and we encourage lawmakers to act quickly in the same spirit to pass this bill and boost our innovation economy.”

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