BREAKING: Why the Obama Administration’s Actions Against Patent Trolls Should Make a Difference ~ Matt Levy

Why the Obama Administration's Actions Against Patent Trolls Should Make a Difference by Matt Levy (Cross-Posted on PatentProgress.org and on DisCo.)

This is a very big day: the Obama Administration has just entered the fray to help deal with patent trolls, and it's taking steps that have the potential to be a major part of the solution to the patent troll problem.

The early press reports on the Administration's efforts have missed the real story: the President and the Administration are publicly recognizing that the problem with patent trolls stems from the problems with software patents. You cannot deal with patent trolls without dealing with software patents.

The President's Executive action to tighten functional claiming does exactly that. It recognizes that in order to stop issuing bad and overbroad patents that wind up in the hands of patent trolls, we need to specifically address software patent applications.