Speaking on the on the House Judiciary Committee’s vote approving H.R. 3309, the Innovation Act, the National Retail Federation Senior Vice President David French said, “The Judiciary Committee has taken Congress’ first concrete action toward combating patent trolls.

"This move should make patent trolls think twice before sending out another round of mass demand letters attempting to extort money from business owners.

“While the bill is a step in the right direction, NRF will continue to work to refine the measure to address the grievances of Main Street merchants, online retailers and others, who suffer at the hands of patent trolls’ frivolous claims and costly lawsuits.

"We would like to see a patent reform bill that requires further transparency in demand letters, effective customer stay language to protect end users, and an expansion of the program that currently allows financial services patents to be reviewed without going to court so that all industries can benefit.

“The Innovation Act received broad bipartisanship support in committee because it attempts to strike the proper balance of the rights of inventors and customers while protecting and strengthening America’s patent system. NRF remains encouraged by the progress on patent reform, and will continue our efforts to ensure that legislation addresses the concerns of retailers.”

NRF is the world’s largest retail trade association, representing discount and department stores, home goods and specialty stores, Main Street merchants, grocers, wholesalers, chain restaurants and Internet retailers from the United States and more than 45 countries.

Retail is the nation’s largest private sector employer, supporting one in four U.S. jobs – 42 million working Americans. Contributing $2.5 trillion to annual GDP, retail is a daily barometer for the nation’s economy.