Goodlatte’s Second Draft on Anti-Troll Legislation Drops, Changes Provisions

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Robert Goodlatte (R-Va.) released on Sept. 23 a second discussion draft proposing legislation to address abusive patent litigation.

The text presents significant differences from a May 23 first draft 102 DER A-23, 5/28/13, incorporating proposals from other bills that have already been introduced and are now likely to be subsumed under Goodlatte’s broader approach.

The new draft retains, however, a number of controversial provisions addressing issues unrelated to abuses by so-called patent trolls.

Rules on Patent Infringement Actions.

The original draft contained a section titled “Incentivizing settlement in patent litigation” that would shift attorneys’ fees ...