CEA Supports SHIELD Act

ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following statement is attributable to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)^®, following today’s introduction of the Saving High-Tech Innovators from Egregious Legal Disputes (SHIELD) Act by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah):

“If we want to build American businesses and create jobs, we need to change the law that encourages baseless but disruptive legal threats for American businesses. A successful defense of a patent lawsuit costs upwards of a million dollars, so many small businesses and startups cannot fight back or get funding to continue their businesses. Today’s law encourages unethical patent trolls, and we stand with President Obama and the authors of the SHIELD Act to get it changed. The SHIELD Act allows the losing litigant to be assessed legal fees, a helpful and sensible first step to strike back at patent trolls, and disincentivizes baseless lawsuits. We urge Congress to pass the SHIELD Act as soon as possible.”

About CEA:

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) is the preeminent trade association promoting growth in the $209 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry. More than 2,000 companies enjoy the benefits of CEA membership, including legislative advocacy, market research, technical training and education, industry promotion, standards development and the fostering of business and strategic relationships. CEA also owns and produces the International CES – The Global Stage for Innovation. All profits from CES are reinvested into CEA’s industry services. Find CEA online at www.CE.org, www.DeclareInnovation.com and through social media: https://www.facebook.com/#!/CEAfeed, http://twitter.com/ceafeed, http://blog.ce.org/.

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