1. United States
2. Fla.
3. Letter

As your constituent, I implore you to firmly oppose the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act (PERA), S. 2140, and the PREVAIL Act, S. 2220. These misguided bills would unleash a torrent of harmful, overly broad patents that enrich patent trolls at the expense of innovators and the public interest. The PERA bill alarmingly seeks to revive the dangerous practice of granting patents on human genes and biological materials. This unethical form of intellectual property privatizes fundamental components of life itself, stifling scientific research and impeding access to vital medical treatments. We must heed the Supreme Court's wise 2013 decision to prohibit such patents. Moreover, PERA would fling open the gates to a deluge of vague, abstract patents on basic computing techniques and online activities like mobile ordering or financial transactions. These low-quality patents serve solely to enable predatory patent assertion entities, commonly known as trolls, to extort settlements from productive businesses through frivolous infringement claims. Small companies and solo developers lack the resources to defend against such costly litigation tactics. Meanwhile, the PREVAIL Act aims to undermine the inter partes review process, limiting the public's ability to challenge erroneously issued patents at the patent office. This crucial error-correction system has invalided thousands of overbroad patents since its 2012 inception, preventing immense economic waste. Rather than padding patent trolls' pockets, I urge you to safeguard American innovation by rejecting legislation that resurrects the very worst excesses of our patent system. Upholding sound patent policies that prevent privatization of basic knowledge and tools benefits society immensely.