EFF Sued for Defamation by Patent Lawyer Behind April's Stupid Patent of the Month, Scott Horstemeyer

A functioning patent system depends on one basic principle: bad patents must be challengeable. In 2025, that principle was repeatedly tested—by Congress, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), and by a small number of large patent owners determined to weaken public challenges. Two damaging bills, PERA and PREVAIL,...

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has proposed new rules that would effectively end the public’s ability to challenge improperly granted patents at the Patent Office itself. We need EFF supporters to file public comments opposing these rules this week. The USPTO is moving quickly, and staying silent will...

PERA would overturn long-standing court decisions that have helped keep some of the most problematic patents in check. This includes the Supreme Court’s Alice v. CLS Bank decision, which bars patents on abstract ideas. While Alice has not completely solved the problems of the patent system or patent trolling, it...

The rights we have in the offline world–to speak freely, create culture, play games, build new things and do business–must be available to us online, as well. This core belief drives EFF’s work to fight the misuse of the patent system. Despite significant progress we’ve made over the last decade,...

Update 11/21/2024: The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 11-10 in favor of PREVAIL, and several senators expressed concerns about the bill. Thanks to EFF supporters who spoke out! We will continue to oppose this misguided bill. Good news: the Senate Judiciary Committee has dropped one of the two terrible patent...