But out of the public eye lawyers in a handful of key cases began negotiating around a 1994 amendment to federal bankruptcy law that lets firms settle litigation by creating a trust fund for victims.
Still, he said that "our finding is that the risk of patent litigation is creating a disincentive for R&D," especially for information technology companies, and that the system urgently needs change.
"This is a huge commitment," said Utah representative Kay Christofferson, a Republican who sponsored legislation approved last Thursday creating a so-called "public lands litigation account" through which the state is beginning to finance a possible lawsuit.
As a result, he said, much of what the agency does ends up in court, requiring expensive litigation and effectively creating a system in which lawsuits drive the regulatory process.
Apple's litigation over object code contributed to the development of contemporary copyright law because the company's object code cases brought different results in different courts, creating a conflict of laws that resulted in international litigation.
Litigation (or threat of litigation) has become a tax on innovation in this country, creating a disincentive for innovators, entrepreneurs, and tinkerers who want to introduce their products to society at large.
"If you have a big competitor creating a cloud over your product with a patent," said Mr. Dragseth, the intellectual property lawyer, "this is a way to take care of that without spending millions on litigation".
Rogue mail Killing the platinum goose The benefits of privacy The cash-register guy ReprintsThe dismemberment of Yukos has already created a mêlée of litigation.
It will create a lot of litigation".
The bill should reduce costly litigation by creating an in-house system to look into claims of patent infringement before they go to court.
