Imagine a world without TV remotes, digital music players or microwave ovens. These products are mainstays of our everyday lives and the result of an explosion in innovation since the 1950s.
Successful innovation in a rapidly changing world is also key to Palm's business. And yet the work of innovators like Palm is increasingly hampered by a patent system that hasn't seen significant modernization since 1952, when only one in three homes had a television -- a system that has come to reward litigation over invention. In these difficult economic times, an effort in Congress to reform the patent system is taking on even greater importance to our collective economic well-being.
Working with the Coalition for Patent Fairness, Palm is supporting a modest set of reforms to bring more predictability and balance to the patent system. Our hope is that, with the legislation introduced today in both houses of Congress, worthy inventions will be patented expeditiously and compensated fairly while at the same time pioneering innovators will have the freedom to invest in new products without the threat of opportunistic litigation and disproportionate damages awards.
We thank Senators Leahy and Hatch, Representatives Conyers and Smith and the many co-sponsors of the Patent Reform Act of 2009 for their continued leadership on these issues, and look forward to a reformed patent system that promotes innovation and holds promise for a revitalized economy.
Mary E. Doyle, Senior Vice President and General Counsel
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