The general counsel for Overstock.com, Inc. testified today in Washington, D.C. at a hearing titled Patent Reform: Protecting American Innovators and Job Creators from Abusive Patent Litigation. Congressman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, invited Mark Griffin, senior vice president and general counsel of Overstock.com, to make a statement before the Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet, today.
Griffin explained the issues that online shopping site, Overstock.com, has experienced in its history of fighting patent troll suits. He provided detail on the many victories won and the costs of those successes. “The only people who benefit from frivolous patent litigation are the trolls and their lawyers, and that benefit is not enumerated among the original aims of our patent system,” Griffin said.
Griffin added that Overstock.com requests the pleading standards in patent litigation be raised, determinations be made between those selling the alleged infringing products and those manufacturing the products, a better discovery process with reasonable cost constraints, as well as better cost-shifting options for judges.
“This subject continues to get a lot of attention,” said Griffin. “It is a crippling problem and a solution needs to finally be agreed upon.”
Overstock.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:OSTK) is an online shopping retailer based in Salt Lake City, Utah that sells a broad range of products at low prices including furniture, rugs, bedding, electronics, clothing, and jewelry. Worldstock.com is a fair trade department dedicated to selling artisan-crafted products from around the world whereas Main Street Revolution supports small businesses across the U.S. by providing them a national customer base. Overstock has additional community-focused initiatives such as a Farmers Market and pet adoption service. Forbes ranked Overstock in its list of the Top 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in 2014. Overstock sells internationally under the name O.co. Overstock Shopping (http://www.overstock.com and http://www.o.co) regularly posts information about the company and other related matters under Investor Relations on its website.