The Saving High-tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (Shield) Act was introduced by Democrat Peter DeFazio and Republican Jason Chaffetz. The proposed legislation comes in response to ‘patent trolls’ who acquire broad patents and then sue companies that allegedly infringe on those patents. Despite the troll claimants often lacking  strong evidence, many small companies feel forced to set as contesting actions in  court is too expensive.

Loser pays

However, under the Act, a ‘loser pays’ system – similar to the regime in the UK courts -- will come into force. The congressmen hope this will deter the ‘trolls’ from filing frivolous lawsuits.
‘Patent trolls don't create new technology and they don't create American jobs,’ Mr DeFazio said in a statement, reported by news web site CNET. ‘They pad their pockets by buying patents on products they didn't create and then suing the innovators who did the hard work and created the product. These egregious lawsuits hurt American innovation and small technology start-ups, and they cost jobs. My legislation would force patent trolls to take financial responsibility for their frivolous lawsuits.’