Pay to play would be detrimental to small businesses

[Small Business Technology Council (SBTC), January 2015, SBTC, “Patent Reform Threatens Small Business Innovation,” , accessed: 7-11-24, ES]

Pay to Play provisions require the inventor plaintiff to post a bond or certify that they can pay the alleged infringers legal fees should they not prevail. This puts enforcing a patent beyond the financial capability of all but the largest and wealthiest of small businesses. Pay to Play would result in most of the over 5,000 active SBIR being unable to enforce their patents unless they give up the majority of their equity to a larger company (which would then put them out of the SBIR program).