Changes

In efforts to diminish the Patent Troll threat by the bill sponsors, the Innovation Act has heightened pleading requirements for parties filing for patent infringement. As of December 2015, Form 18, the form previously used to submit generalized patent infringement claims , has been eliminated by the Judicial Conference in wide-sweeping amendments. This change was expected to be implemented December of 2015 and was made in an effort to heighten patent claim requirements by the Judicial Conference. <ref name="patentlyo18" />, was eliminated in order The Innovation Act also proposes Form 18's elimination to reduce patent litigation, especially litigation involving Patent Trolls or Non-Practicing Entities.<ref name="nationallawreview" /> The act would go further in reducing generalized complaints and eliminating loopholes by requiring (with exceptions) the plaintiff to submit infringement charts with the initial complaint.<ref name="patentlyoIA" /> The purpose of the charts would be to force the plaintiff to explain the specifics of a claim, how a product or subsidiary company violates each infringed component of a patent and the scope of each component's infringement. <ref name="patentlyoIA" />