But there is another issue, often overlooked, that might make the patent question beside the point.
DealBook » New Exchange Is Formed for Trading Patent Rights | The Intellectual Property Exchange International, or IPXI, wants to make the patent licensing marketplace more transparent.
More important, research-based drug firms are using a variety of tactics to make the patent cliff slope more gently.
Under a previous agreement, Samsung had pledged to make the patents available to competitors on "fair, reasonable and nondiscriminatory" terms.
Members of the appropriations committee were reluctant to support a proposal that would make the patent office self-funding, leaving it outside the annual appropriations process.
Gary Lauder, a venture capitalist, said the new law had the logic of trying to make the patent system more efficient and less prone to litigation.
The goal of the exchange, which was established in 2008, is to make the patent licensing marketplace more transparent, said Mr. Pannekoek, who is a former executive of the Chicago Climate Exchange.
In any case, the close competition between the two companies is likely to make the patent issues surrounding xenotransplantation quite thorny.
Fortunately, in the meantime tech companies large and small have found common ground in supporting judicial, legislative and other efforts that could make the patent system less vulnerable to patent troll abuses.
But all things considered, Goodlatte's draft appears to be a great vehicle to make the patent office more functional and overthrow the trolls gumming up one of the most innovative parts of our economy.
