INNOVATION ACT PASSES: NOW WHAT? — The big picture, from Erin: “Supporters of a bill to crack down on so-called patent trolls cheered its passage by the House on Thursday and immediately began to push for Senate action on the measure. The House passed the Innovation Act by an overwhelming vote of 325-91, just six weeks after it was introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.). The swift action marked a stark contrast to the years of negotiation that led up to the last congressional patent overhaul, the America Invents Act, in 2011...Supporters say Thursday’s lopsided vote in the House sends a signal to the Senate as it starts to shape its own bill...But opponents caution that...the substitute amendment offered by leading House Judiciary Democrats John Conyers (Mich.) and Mel Watt (N.C.) received significant support, even though it ultimately failed.”
