`
`Senator Coons Patents are about the American Dream IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
`
`Senator Coons – Patents are
`about the American Dream
`
`By Gene Quinn on March 5, 2015
`
`Yesterday Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) gave a
`speech at Inventing America: Patents,
`Innovation, Jobs and the Economy, which was
`held at the Newseum in Washington, DC.
`Senator Coons is unlike many Members of
`Congress for a variety of reasons. For example,
`his official website has a page dedicated to
`Intellectual Property, which doesn’t sound
`remarkable but is rather rare unfortunately.
`Senator Coons is also a scientists by training,
`having received a B.A. in Chemistry
`from Amherst College prior to attending Yale
`Law School, which means unlike many
`members of Congress he understands
`innovation issues down to the scientific level.
`Senator Coons is also unusual due to the fact
`that he believes in the need for a strong patent
`system and is very supportive of the innovative
`community who relies so heavily on patents.
`
`Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) at the Newseum
`on March 4, 2015.
`
`Rather than summarize his remarks we have transcribed his speech below. Our
`
`Exhibit 2023 Page 001
`
`Pharmacyclics LLC - Ex. 2023
`Coalition for Affordable Drugs IV LLC v. Pharmacyclics LLC
`Case IPR2015-01076
`
`
`
`transcript begins with the substance of Senator Coon’s speech, beginning after his
`introductory and welcoming remarks.
`
`+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
`
`I am excited to have a chance to join you today to talk about patents, their importance
`and what I am doing and hope to do in the Senate to protect them. It is seemingly
`symbolic that as you look at the Capital Dome, it is encased in a super structure designed
`to help repair it. Our Congress is badly in need of repair. It is in need of some outside
`support so that it can provide the function it historically has. The way, I think, that an ill
`advised and poorly crafted bill to defeat patent trolls raced through the house last year,
`woke many of us up to the possibility that there might be some members of Congress who
`are not deeply and fully informed about intellectual property policy and about the
`importance of patents. So I want to thank you at the onset, for being that super structure
`that will help support a well thought out, balanced and reasonable path forward on
`dealing with issued that have been raised about patent litigation, while still sustaining,
`strengthening and making more durable the super structure of our intellectual property
`system that has for so long encouraged and invested in innovation.
`
`I think too many of us, certainly in Congress and maybe in the whole country just take for
`granted that the United States is a country of ceaseless innovation, where remarkable
`things that seemed impossible decades or even a few years ago just appear in front of us
`as new products, new services, new pharmaceuticals or new devices. But you know all too
`well, it is not by accident. It is the result of a very important system that has been
`imbedded into our constitution and a core part of our national character and has made
`possible the move from the industrial revolution at the turn of the 19th Century to today’s
`exploration of everything from artificial intelligence to cell therapies.
`
`And in my view, patents are not just foundational. Patents are really about the American
`Dream. They are about what it means to come to this country or be from this country and
`believe in the possibility that you and a team of folks that you work with can invent and
`develop and then protect a groundbreaking innovation. Patents are about constantly
`laying a stronger foundation upon which future generations can continue to innovate and
`about insuring we will find solutions to the challenges that face us, not just here but
`around the world.
`
`Inventors, as you know, are found all across America today and from all sorts of different
`
`Exhibit 2023 Page 002
`
`
`
`7/30/2015
`Senator Coons Patents are about the American Dream IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
`backgrounds. They help us achieve groundbreaking things nobody thought possible.
`Since Thomas Edison was granted patent number 223,898 for the light bulb, one of his
`dozens of patents, our patent system has laid the foundation for billions of dollars of
`investments in cures, in technologies and materials and an incredible array of scientific
`advances.
`
`Unfortunately, when you hear about patents in the news, in the last few years it is
`overwhelmingly in the negative context. It is usually associated with a word that means a
`bridge dwelling creature that is large and green. Although I enjoyed Shrek as a film, I
`really have not enjoyed the characterization of patent asserting entities as Trolls. I sort of
`hope we can find a way to turn it into a more positive thing. You know, Shrek really
`produced a loveable troll, a really enjoyable troll.
`
`I do think it is important for us to look hard at the ways in which the patent system has
`been mischaracterized, and how those who rely on it to defend their inventions and
`innovations have been mischaracterized in the debate and discussions of the last few
`years. You may hear about trolls, but you typically will not hear about the billions of
`dollars invested, about the literally millions of jobs that will rely on strong patent systems
`and the companies that they support. And I think it is unfortunate because it creates a
`groundless divide that is false and unnecessary.
`
`I don’t think there is any sector in the American economy that hates patents and that is
`fundamentally opposed to the idea of patent protection. Every software developer, every
`chip designer would like to see the next generation of Wi-Fi or 5G and every retailer would
`like to see their store shelves stocked with new and innovative products. Every part of our
`service economy from hotels to financial services benefits from innovations that help
`them steadily advance and improve the customer experience and deliver their services in
`a more cost effective and secure ways. Innovation is central to every sector of the
`American economy, and because patents influence so much of what we have and will
`accomplish in America, our pro-patent coalition is much larger than the few companies
`and individuals who get involved in patent litigation.
`
`Strong US Patent protections create high paying American jobs which are only possible
`when our market place allows more than just a reductive race to the cheapest labor for
`manufacturing or the most lightened labor environmental protections. Community is
`effected by everything from life wasting diseases who hope for strong patents because
`
`Exhibit 2023 Page 003
`
`
`
`they hope for cures to those who believe in the possibility of greater communication and
`greater innovation in everything from the apps we download from software stores to the
`ways that we communicate financially and hope that they will be secure.
`
`Any person who believes that individual rights should not be curtailed when they run up
`against large companies with an army of lawyers believes in strong patents because the
`patents level the playing field. We have to continue to work together to make sure we
`have not just strong patents but strong patent litigation systems so you level the playing
`field in a sustainable and meaningful way.
`
`So here is the truth. We need to both strengthen patents and target real abuse. They are
`not mutually exclusive and so that is why I have introduced the bill, The Strong Patents
`Act of 2015, along with my great colleagues, Senators Durbin and Hirono. It tackles the
`two forms of abuse we know to be prevalent enough to have generated so much
`enthusiasm for erasing or changing or erasing much of the rules of litigations. And those
`two issues are demand letters and pleading standards. First, it cracks down on abuse of
`demand letters by meaningfully empowering the Federal Trade Commission to target
`firms that abuse start-ups rather than inventing things. Second, it ensures that the
`pleading standards for patent infringement cases matches the standards of all other
`forms of civil litigation creating a higher barrier to frivolous lawsuits before any funds are
`spent on discovery. And I think those are two important, meaningful moves that do not
`fundamentally deflect or realign the greater system of patent litigation.
`
`My bill also targets another kind of abuse which we have seen recently in an attack, for
`example, on Acorda (Therapeutics), a biotechnology firm focused on therapies for
`patients with MS in which we have been told to expect across a wide range of biotech and
`pharmaceutical industries, this misuse of post grant proceedings. I think it is not intended
`to increase competition but instead to scare away investment. That is why my bill also
`addresses some of the imbalance in how PGR Post Grant proceedings in review at the
`Patent Trademark office occur. Including a standard of review consistent with district
`court litigation which will even the opportunities to present evidence and a standing
`requirement hat would have prevented the harmful actions on Acorda that I am sure you
`are all familiar with.
`
`My bill will also achieve what, for me, has been a long time priority and dream, ending
`patent fee diversion from the patent and trademark office. I am a lot of fun at parties in
`
`Exhibit 2023 Page 004
`
`
`
`7/30/2015
`Senator Coons Patents are about the American Dream IPWatchdog.com | Patents & Patent Law
`Delaware. It is scary but that really is something I have been passionate about for about
`15 years now. Litigating fee diversion from PTO so we can ensure that those who examine
`patents have adequate training, reliable funding and we stop using the PTO as a kitty for
`Congress to fund other pet projects as it was for much of the last 20 years. And it will also
`analyze the impact that it has on small business from the prospective of start ups relying
`on patent protection and small businesses facing allegations of infringement so we can
`add current facts to our sometimes over heated argument about what is best for small
`business growth in this country.
`
`We have to address these pressing issues and I believe that we can do so and do more
`harm than good. That should be our first goal under that dome, is to first do no harm and
`second, hopefully, do some real good. I look forward to engaging with my colleagues,
`both republicans and democrats, both on and off the judiciary community, to educate
`them about how we can hit the right balance. It is my hope that the introduction of the bill
`is the next stage in an ongoing conversation about how we can get to the right place, how
`we can get a piece of legislation that can actually be enacted by Congress and make it to
`the President’s desk, and how we can avoid unintended significant harm to the Patent
`System that we have relied on for so long to be the foundation of our growth.
`
`I have been encouraged by the receptiveness and concern that some of my Senate
`colleagues have expressed when I have spoken to them about what is really at stake in
`this debate. And I know they are also eager to hear your stories. Frankly they are probably
`more eager to hear from you than from me. And I appreciate the work that you are doing
`to make sure that the voices of American inventors and innovators are really heard on
`Capital Hill. That is absolutely essential. Relatively few members of Congress have family
`members who are patent holders. Relatively few members of Congress have spent any
`time in a research lab or working for a company that harnesses inventions and
`innovations and then delivers them to the market place. So I hope you recognize just how
`significantly behind the curve we are in trying to engage members in meaningful but
`sometimes difficult conversation.
`
`Innovation happens in lots of sectors all over our country and that is why we have to keep
`adjusting our legislative goals to the reality of the changing landscape. Something I
`remind my colleagues of all of the time, is that the Lehy/Smith Invents Act was a
`significant landmark thought that reset a lot of the rules going forward. We have had
`relatively little time to fully digest and adapt to it and there have been recent changes
`
`Exhibit 2023 Page 005
`
`
`
`from Supreme Court opinions on fee shifting and patentability to actions by the judicial
`conference, the recommendations of discovery and on actions by individual’s judges from
`the district of Delaware. All of which change long standing court room procedures and
`reduce the cost of litigation in ways that I think meaningfully respond to concerns about
`discovery and litigation costs.
`
`Inventors, in my experience, want the same thing across a wide range of backgrounds and
`innovation, the freedom to create, the ability to work with world-class teams and the
`capacity to turn their ideas into reality. They want the chance to change our world. That is
`why you work every day to move our nation forward and that is why I am working hard to
`ensure you have the right tools to do so. Our goal must be to protect the patent system so
`it works for everyone and to pass on an even stronger system so that future generations
`can use it for a platform for the inventions and innovations we can hardly dream of today.
`
`So thank you for what you do. Thank you for your energy, your partnership, and most
`importantly, your ideas so that together we can continue to solve problems and move the
`world forward.
`
`Tags: American Dream, Congress, demand letters, fee diversion, innovation, innovation
`alliance, newseum, patent, patent litigation abuse, patent office, patent system, patent
`troll, Patent Trolls, patents, senate, Senator Chris Coons, Strong Patents, STRONG
`Patents Act, u.s. senate, us senate, USPTO
`Posted In: Capitol Hill, Government, IP News, IPWatchdog.com Articles, Legislation,
`Patent Reform, Patents, STRONG Patents Act
`There are currently 1 Comment comments. Join the discussion.
`
`1.
`
`Steve March 5, 2015 6:52 pm
`
`Bravo!
`
`Exhibit 2023 Page 006
`
`