American businesses – small and large – face abusive patent litigation and rely on important tools to challenge the low-quality patents that fuel the abuse.

For more information email contact@unitedforpatentreform.com.

Who We Are

United for Patent Reform is a broad coalition of diverse American businesses, small and large – from national construction companies, automobile manufacturers, and technology businesses to Main Street retail shops, REALTORS®, hotels, grocers, convenience stores, and restaurants – that have come together to advocate for a comprehensive solution to abuses of our current patent system.

What We Stand For

Improved patent quality

so that businesses don’t waste precious resources fighting patents that should have never issued, and valid patents protect real innovation.

Better tools

for weeding out bad patents, so that businesses can fight back instead of settling.

Solutions that eliminate or minimize practices

that support abusive litigation like misleading demand letters, vague pleadings, excessive discovery, and suits against end users.

The Threat

Abusive patent litigation has been used by non-practicing entities (NPEs), often called “patent trolls,” to threaten and shake down American businesses of all sizes and across all sectors of the economy. Anyone that uses software in commerce is a vulnerable target for NPEs that buy up low-quality patents for the purpose of extracting “hold up” settlements. The high level of NPE litigation places a crushing burden on U.S. businesses and diverts funds from job creation and R&D.

80%
Percentage of patent suits filed against small- and medium-sized companies (SMEs) by NPEs.
RPX 2018 Litigation Report
53.3%
Percentage of litigation cases brought by NPEs.
RPX 2018 Litigation Report
$1.75 million
Cost of the average in-court patent defense case paid by a small- or medium-sized company, which can be more than these businesses earn in an entire year.
Colleen V. Chien, Santa Clara University School of Law Startups and Patent Trolls
37%
Percentage increase in the frequency of patent litigation brought by NPES.
RPX 2019 Q2 in Review

Who's Affected

Michael Skelps
President, Capstone Photography in Connecticut
“Capstone Photography, was sued for infringement of three vague and overly broad patents relating to how event photos are posted online for searching, viewing and purchase. Without even a single line item in our budget for legal defense, we spent $100,000 to defend against the suit.” Click here to read more about the progress we need to preserve in protecting our mainstreet and small businesses.
Jim Johnson
President, Mr. Jim's Pizza
NPEs have sued Mr. Jim’s Pizza, along with 50 other pizza shops for adding a location finder to their website and photographers for uploading their own work for sale. Click here to read more about how mainstreet and small businesses have been bullied by patent trolls.
Peter Cahill
Founder & CEO, LifeLine Response
Startups developing and patenting their own technology are forced to cut jobs or shut down when targeted by NPEs. That is not surprising since it can cost a small company half a million dollars to defend itself in patent litigation, also taking a large toll on innovation. Click here to read more about the harm to startups.

American businesses – small and large – face abusive patent litigation and rely on important tools to challenge the low-quality patents that fuel the abuse.

Who We Are

What We Stand For

The Threat

Who's Affected

Michael Skelps

Jim Johnson

Peter Cahill

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