The Senate Judiciary Committee will begin consideration ofpatent reform legislation on March 27.

The Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013, introducedby Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. MikeLee (R-Utah), would require plaintiffs who file a patent case todisclose their beneficial owners using a standard already adoptedby federal courts.

“America's patent system is the envy of the world and an enginefor job creation. Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee havebeen working on meaningful, targeted legislation to combat patentabuses in our system. As chairman of the committee, I amcommitted to ensuring we move forward with meaningful legislationthis spring,” Leahy said in a statement on Thursday.

“In order to ensure a timely markup of this important issue thataffects American businesses, I will list bipartisan legislation forconsideration on our next agenda. I look forward to the committeeconsidering this important legislation.”

In particular, CUNA supports Section 5 of the bill as a way tocombat the patent abuse.

“The provision would clarify that the Federal Trade Commissionhas enforcement authority over patent trolls that operate in unfairor deceptive ways, but it does not provide the FTC with the abilityto make rules in this area,” said John Dwyer, president/CEO of $979million New England Federal Credit Union in Williston, testifyingon behalf of CUNA in a December Senate Judiciary Committeehearing.

“We believe the FTC should have the ability to evolve in itsenforcement powers as trolls evolve, and rulemaking authority wouldprovide the agency with the means to do this,” he said.

NAFCU also supports the legislation.