SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Technology giants, banking firms win major victory with House approval of patent reform bill

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Business -- Technology giants, banking firms win major victory with House approval of patent reform bill: "The Coalition for Patent Fairness and the Business Software Alliance, whose members include high-tech titans such as Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corp., lauded the decision as a boon for inventors and consumers. ...

Opponents of the bill included pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, such as Johnson & Johnson and Amgen Inc., who say it weakens patent protection by reducing infringement penalties and permitting post-approval challenges to patents. ...

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a similar version of the bill in July and it awaits a vote in the full Senate.

That bill includes a provision that would protect banks from damage awards in patent infringement cases involving electronic check-clearing technologies, such as check-imaging systems.

Banks have paid millions of dollars to settle allegations of infringement of such technologies, the American Bankers Association said in July.

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