

Trolls, Watch Out: Senator Hatch Introduces New Patent Legislation - DiabloD3
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/10/trolls-watch-out-senator-hatch-introduces-new-patent-legislation

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6cxs2hd6
This sounds like a step in the right direction. Unfortunately I'm a little
skeptical how much it will help given that it's at the Court's discretion to
require a bond. It's hard to imagine that happening in East Texas -- where
supporting patent trolls is a keystone of the local economy, and judges'
chambers often seem indistinguishable from the local Chamber of Commerce.

Even so, I hope this helps.

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VaedaStrike
Being a citizen of Utah I have to say that this is a refreshing change for our
dear Sen Hatch who, generally speaking, is often so ignorant and obtuse in
tech related matters. I hope he's got someone waking him up generally to the
tech sector and that this isn't just an anomaly.

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chadmaughan
After ~36 years in the US Senate you're bound to get a few things right.

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VaedaStrike
That's an awesome observation. Maybe that's why he went back on his word of
only being a one term senator, so he'd increase the window of opportunity for
getting something right.

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ryankshaw
this was a good reminder to me to try to judge a movement/action/thing based
on it's merit and not just discredit it because of who's behind it. I agree
with others that at the first sight of "Hatch" I though "uh oh? what now?" but
this bill looks genuinely great.

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protomyth
Given his past (RIAA related legislation), it is a very good idea to read the
whole bill and not the press release. Having said that, I haven't seen any
problems.

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lostinpoetics
My main concern with these bond requirement bills (of which there have been
many, most notably the SHIELD act introduced by DeFazio and Chaffetz) is the
creation of "super trolls" due to smaller trolls offloading assets since
litigation would no longer be as profitable. Such a troll would easily be able
to show "that it has and will have the ability to pay the accused infringer’s
fees and other expenses if ordered to do so," and while the other factors may
be considered, I can see this one being determinative. So you flush out a slew
of smaller trolls and give somewhat of windfall to existing, larger trolls.
Although this is all hypothetical and perhaps having a few "big" targets is
easier to deal with in the long run.

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hsmyers
Is there an award for oddest bedfellows? 'Cause this has got to be a real
contender. I particularly like Hatch's bond mechanism as this will force the
revelation of the money trail. And as every CSI show will tell you 'follow the
money' is key to solving crime.

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_JamesA_
Wasn't he involved in the SCO and Ralph Yarro affair? That's quite a
turnaround. What's the catch?

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carrja99
IIRC his son, Brent Hatch, was one of SCO's lawyers. Nothing crazy there since
SCO was based out of Utah.

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brianbarker
The EFF praises Senator Hatch. It's Halloween, not April Fool's.

