A few weeks ago, I discussed how the Northern District of Illinois had become the false patent marking capitol of the world (okay, the United States) and how the Local Patent Rules may be playing into it. But Congress may be stepping in to limit false patent marking suits – click here for a Patent Docs post showing that similar amendments have been introduced in both the House and the Senate patent reform bills. The current versions of the amendments would require that false patent making plaintiffs have suffered competitive injury. And most significantly, the amendments would apply the standing requirement to both pending and future false patent marking cases. If passed and signed into law, these amendments would effectively end the vast majority of the 100+ false patent marking cases filed this year, including more than 50 filed in the Northern District of Illinois.
The Public Patent Foundation – a false patent marking plaintiff itself – has come out in opposition to the amendments. Presumably, most industry segments support the competitive injury requirement which still gives the false patent marking statute plenty of teeth.