A group of Minnesota businesses is calling on Congress to pass patent reform to protect businesses against harassing demand letters from so-called patent trolls.
The push for reform, however, has some groups concerned about potentially stifling innovation.
Patent trolling has picked up in the past two years for reasons that aren't clearly understood, said William Schultz, partner at Merchant & Gould in Minneapolis.
Schultz took part in a forum on the patent problem Thursday in St. Paul hosted by the newly formed Main Street Patent Coalition, a nonpartisan national organization backed by several trade groups such as the National Restaurant Association and Retail Industry Leaders Association. State Attorney General Lori Swanson was in attendance, as was Brent Christensen, president of the Minnesota Telecom Alliance.
Christensen said some of his group's members have been hit with demand letters from patent trolls regarding patents in equipment the companies use, such as the software that runs routers and switches. Some members have paid fees to avoid costly litigation, he said.
"It's harassment," said Christensen. "These are small companies."
The problem isn't going away and needs to be fixed, he said.
Schultz, a patent lawyer, said he thinks Minnesota as been hit a bit harder than some other states because of its concentration of medical device and financial companies, popular targets for patent trolls.