To address many of the harms caused by overbroad patents and malicious patent trolls, the broken patent system must be fixed on the legislative level.

There is currently a growing number of bills pending in Congress, as well as five executive actions and seven legislative proposals put forth by the White House—not to mention one state-level law. These bills take on the troll issue from various angles; none is a silver bullet, nor does any proposal truly address the underlying issue of broad software patents, but all manage to show just how many broken parts there are to the current patent system.

Solutions that would help solve the patent troll problem should shift financial incentives, level the playing field, and bring much-needed transparency to the system.

Proposed Reforms

• App Developers Alliance, Patent Reform: Information Hub
• Electronic Frontier Foundation, Defend Innovation
• Electronic Frontier Foundation, Legislative Solutions for Patent Reform
• Patent Progress, Systemic Problems

​Current Legislation

• Patent Progress, Guide to Patent Reform Legislation