000337	06-reform-progress_wmp_a_16.wma
000000	ERIK SCHMIDT: So is the EFF monitoring the overall status of patent reform?
000006	And if so, do you think that there is going to be any real substantive movement this year on patent reform?
000014	JASON SCHULTZ: Yes so EFF has been involved in monitoring the patent reform efforts both here in the United States and also in Europe.
000024	In Europe actually it's a different situation, where they technically don't have software patents per se.
000032	And there was an effort to legislatively open up more flexibility to allow for software patents.
000038	And their EFF was advising some of the groups, some of the public interest groups in Europe about the problems we've had here.
000046	The horror stories that we've had here with some of these patents
000050	and help support their efforts to limit lets patentable in Europe and that was successful.
000055	I mean the groups there did all the work, but we felt like we helped contribute a little bit.
000100	Here in the United States there are several different reform areas that are going on and being proposed, some more radical than others.
000109	There are litigation reforms, very, very specific court room litigation reforms that are being proposed, such as caps on willful infringement damages.
000120	Looking at issues of venue where you can bring a patent lawsuit because Texas right now is a very popular place, because it's very pro-patent holder.
000131	ERIK SCHMIDT: Eastern district of Texas?
000132	JASON SCHULTZ: Eastern district in particular, Marshall in particular.
000134	But I actually think that all of Texas has sort of received a boon in lawyer litigation from patents.
000142	So there are very specific things like that and EFF is generally following and generally supportive of those efforts.
000151	But the big area where you're seeing some of the reform right now is actually at the Supreme Court.
000158	And this has become a very interesting area that EFF is involved with.
000202	We have been filing amicus briefs in most of the major Supreme Court patent cases.
000208	There was a case about injunctions involving eBay where we filed a brief talking about how free speech in the public interests 
000215	can be affected by patents on communication techniques.
000220	And, therefore, injunctions in a patent case could actually inhibit speech if the injunction said, for instance, 
000227	that you couldn't use a blogging tool or you couldn't use email a certain way or things like that.
000234	There's also a case pending currently before the Supreme Court called KSR, which is about the standard for whether a patent is obvious or not.
000242	There we filed a brief on behalf of open-source in free software companies, talking about how vulnerable they are to bad patents.
000250	And how it's important for patent quality to be high so that the benefits of free and open-source software can be enjoyed 
000256	by everyone within the United States, both big and small.
000301	And recently, in the Microsoft versus AT&T case, the Supreme Court raised the question of whether software was patentable at all?
000311	And that was sort of a shocker to many people and we didn't think the case was going to actually end up being about that.
000316	It may not be in the end in terms of the opinion, but I think that issue will come up again.
000323	So I think the Supreme Court is getting very active in this area.
000327	And I think EFF will continue to be involved and to try and bring our perspective to help the reform efforts as they go on.