Senate Review of Innovation Act Favors Practicing Entities Like MMRGlobal
Senate Review of Innovation Act Favors Practicing Entities Like MMRGlobal
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 23, 2013) - MMRGlobal, Inc. (OTCQB: MMRF), through its wholly owned subsidiary MyMedicalRecords, Inc. (collectively, "MMR"), a leading provider of Personal Health Records (PHRs), MyEsafeDepositBox storage solutions and electronic document management and imaging systems for healthcare professionals, applauds lawmakers of the Senate Judiciary Committee for efforts to protect the American inventor. MMR called attention today to a December 17th article published in Law360 about the debate on how to protect the American inventor's right to patent without overburdening their ability to enforce their patents because of alleged abusers of the patent system. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, and Senators Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), all voiced concerns about H.R. 3309, known as the Innovation Act, and the adverse impact that it could have on inventors who are practicing entities, small businesses and American entrepreneurs.
MMR is a practicing entity with nine issued U.S. patents covering numerous health information technology products and services including Personal Health Records, MyEsafeDepositBox storage solutions and professional document management and imaging systems offered to healthcare providers. In addition to the U.S., MMR's patents are issued and pending in countries or regional authorities around the world including Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan, Canada, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Israel, and Europe.
Last Tuesday, December 17th, Chairman Leahy, who introduced a less-sweeping bill in November called the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 (S. 1720), stated in the hearing titled "Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse," that the measures in his bill "are balanced and targeted to preserve the rights of legitimate patent holders whose inventions help drive our economy." He urged the Committee "to stay focused on that balance," which reflects what MMR, as a practicing entity and patent holder, supports.
The senators took issue with the Innovation Act, originally intended to make it more difficult for non-practicing entities to file abusive patent suits, because the House bill includes changes to patent law that could make it difficult for practicing entities to file patent suits. This affects small businesses and the ability for Americans to invent and protect their inventions, a right originally granted in the U.S. Constitution.
Senator Chris Coons said the Senate must find a way to provide small businesses with relief from frivolous suits by patent trolls without making major changes that could weaken the overall patent system, which he said is a task that is "clear but not easy." Senators Dianne Feinstein and Richard Blumenthal said the Senate should hold additional hearings to hear the views of more interested parties before voting on any patent bills, reported Law360.
"'I am wary of overkill. I'm wary of unintended consequences of limiting patent rights without knowing what the end result will be,' Blumenthal said. 'We have a very important obligation that we first do no harm.' Sen. Richard Durbin said he is skeptical of any plan whose 'premise is to reduce access to the judicial system,' which he said appears to be the basis of several of the proposed anti-patent-troll measures, which would change the requirements for all patent lawsuits. 'If the goal is to create a chilling effect on trolls that are abusing the system, it seems to me this goes too far by reaching into meritorious claims.'"
MMRGlobal holds a growing patent portfolio, both in health information technology (HIT) and biotech. Over the past two years, MMR has received nine issued HIT patents directed at methods and systems for providing online medical records and online records as well us Rx management and wireless PHR applications. In biotech, the Company has patents directed at anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies and B-cell vaccines, with additional data from vaccine trials, thousands of patient tumor samples and other intellectual property targeted toward the fight against cancer. Although MMRGlobal continues working to license and otherwise exploit an extensive portfolio of biotech assets, it remains focused on its primary health IT business.
About MMRGlobal
MMRGlobal, Inc., through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, MyMedicalRecords, Inc., provides secure and easy-to-use online Personal Health Records ("PHRs") and electronic safe deposit box storage solutions, serving consumers, healthcare professionals, employers, insurance companies, financial institutions, retail pharmacies, and professional organizations and affinity groups. The MyMedicalRecords PHR enables individuals and families to access their medical records and other important documents, such as birth certificates, passports, insurance policies and wills, anytime from anywhere using the Internet. MyMedicalRecords is built on proprietary, patented technologies to allow documents, images and voicemail messages to be transmitted and stored in the system using a variety of methods, including fax, phone, or file upload without relying on any specific electronic medical record platform to populate a user's account. The Company's professional offering, MMRPro, is designed to give physicians' offices an easy and cost-effective solution to digitizing paper-based medical records and sharing them with patients through an integrated patient portal. Through its merger with Favrille, Inc. in January 2009, the Company acquired intellectual property biotech assets that include anti-CD20 antibodies and data and samples from its FavId™/Specifid™ vaccine clinical trials for the treatment of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. To learn more about MMRGlobal, Inc. visit www.mmrglobal.com. View demos and video tutorials of the Company's products and services at www.mmrtheater.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature, including, without limitation, intellectual property enforcement actions, infringement claims or litigation, intellectual property licenses, and future performance, management's expectations, beliefs, intentions, estimates or projections, constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause MMR's actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some can be identified by the use of words (and their derivations) such as "need," "possibility," "potential," "intend," "offer," "development," "if," "negotiate," "when," "begun," "believe," "achieve," "will," "estimate," "expect," "maintain," "plan," and "continue," or the negative of these words. Actual outcomes and results of operations and the timing of selected events may differ materially from the results predicted, and any reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Such statements are necessarily based on assumptions and estimates and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the possible invalidity of the underlying assumptions and estimates and possible changes or developments in economic, business, industry, market, legal and regulatory circumstances and conditions and actions taken or omitted to be taken by third parties, including customers, suppliers, business partners, potential licensees, competitors and legislative, judicial and other governmental authorities and officials. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: unexpected outcomes with respect to intellectual property enforcement actions, claims of intellectual property infringement and general intellectual property litigation; our ability to maintain, develop, monetize and protect our patent portfolio for both MMR's health IT and biotechnology intellectual property assets in the U.S. and internationally; the timing of milestone payments in connection with licensing our intellectual property; our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships; changes in our relationships with our licensees; the risk MMR's products are not adopted or viewed favorably by the healthcare community and consumer retail market; business prospects, results of operations or financial condition; risks related to the current uncertainty and instability in financial and lending markets, including global economic uncertainties; the timing and volume of sales and installations; the length of sales cycles and the installation process; the market's acceptance of new product and service introductions; competitive product offerings and promotions; changes in government laws and regulations including the 2009 HITECH Act and changes in Meaningful Use and the 2010 Affordable Care Act; future changes in tax legislation and initiatives in the healthcare industry; undetected errors in our products; the possibility of interruption at our data centers; risks related to third party vendors; risks related to obtaining and integrating third-party licensed technology; risks related to a security breach by third parties; risks associated with recruitment and retention of key personnel; other litigation matters; uncertainties associated with doing business internationally across borders and territories; and additional risks discussed in MMR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. MMR is providing this information as of the date of this release and, except as required by applicable law, does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT:
Michael Selsman
Public Communications Co.
ms@publiccommunications.biz
(310) 922-7033
Senate Review of Innovation Act Favors Practicing Entities Like MMRGlobal
LOS ANGELES, CA--(Marketwired - Dec 23, 2013) - MMRGlobal, Inc. (OTCQB: MMRF), through its wholly owned subsidiary MyMedicalRecords, Inc. (collectively, "MMR"), a leading provider of Personal Health Records (PHRs), MyEsafeDepositBox storage solutions and electronic document management and imaging systems for healthcare professionals, applauds lawmakers of the Senate Judiciary Committee for efforts to protect the American inventor. MMR called attention today to a December 17th article published in Law360 about the debate on how to protect the American inventor's right to patent without overburdening their ability to enforce their patents because of alleged abusers of the patent system. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman, and Senators Chris Coons (D-Delaware), Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut), Richard Durbin (D-Illinois), Dianne Feinstein (D-California), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), all voiced concerns about H.R. 3309, known as the Innovation Act, and the adverse impact that it could have on inventors who are practicing entities, small businesses and American entrepreneurs.
MMR is a practicing entity with nine issued U.S. patents covering numerous health information technology products and services including Personal Health Records, MyEsafeDepositBox storage solutions and professional document management and imaging systems offered to healthcare providers. In addition to the U.S., MMR's patents are issued and pending in countries or regional authorities around the world including Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Mexico, Japan, Canada, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Israel, and Europe.
Last Tuesday, December 17th, Chairman Leahy, who introduced a less-sweeping bill in November called the Patent Transparency and Improvements Act of 2013 (S. 1720), stated in the hearing titled "Protecting Small Businesses and Promoting Innovation by Limiting Patent Troll Abuse," that the measures in his bill "are balanced and targeted to preserve the rights of legitimate patent holders whose inventions help drive our economy." He urged the Committee "to stay focused on that balance," which reflects what MMR, as a practicing entity and patent holder, supports.
The senators took issue with the Innovation Act, originally intended to make it more difficult for non-practicing entities to file abusive patent suits, because the House bill includes changes to patent law that could make it difficult for practicing entities to file patent suits. This affects small businesses and the ability for Americans to invent and protect their inventions, a right originally granted in the U.S. Constitution.
Senator Chris Coons said the Senate must find a way to provide small businesses with relief from frivolous suits by patent trolls without making major changes that could weaken the overall patent system, which he said is a task that is "clear but not easy." Senators Dianne Feinstein and Richard Blumenthal said the Senate should hold additional hearings to hear the views of more interested parties before voting on any patent bills, reported Law360.
"'I am wary of overkill. I'm wary of unintended consequences of limiting patent rights without knowing what the end result will be,' Blumenthal said. 'We have a very important obligation that we first do no harm.' Sen. Richard Durbin said he is skeptical of any plan whose 'premise is to reduce access to the judicial system,' which he said appears to be the basis of several of the proposed anti-patent-troll measures, which would change the requirements for all patent lawsuits. 'If the goal is to create a chilling effect on trolls that are abusing the system, it seems to me this goes too far by reaching into meritorious claims.'"
MMRGlobal holds a growing patent portfolio, both in health information technology (HIT) and biotech. Over the past two years, MMR has received nine issued HIT patents directed at methods and systems for providing online medical records and online records as well us Rx management and wireless PHR applications. In biotech, the Company has patents directed at anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies and B-cell vaccines, with additional data from vaccine trials, thousands of patient tumor samples and other intellectual property targeted toward the fight against cancer. Although MMRGlobal continues working to license and otherwise exploit an extensive portfolio of biotech assets, it remains focused on its primary health IT business.
About MMRGlobal
MMRGlobal, Inc., through its wholly-owned operating subsidiary, MyMedicalRecords, Inc., provides secure and easy-to-use online Personal Health Records ("PHRs") and electronic safe deposit box storage solutions, serving consumers, healthcare professionals, employers, insurance companies, financial institutions, retail pharmacies, and professional organizations and affinity groups. The MyMedicalRecords PHR enables individuals and families to access their medical records and other important documents, such as birth certificates, passports, insurance policies and wills, anytime from anywhere using the Internet. MyMedicalRecords is built on proprietary, patented technologies to allow documents, images and voicemail messages to be transmitted and stored in the system using a variety of methods, including fax, phone, or file upload without relying on any specific electronic medical record platform to populate a user's account. The Company's professional offering, MMRPro, is designed to give physicians' offices an easy and cost-effective solution to digitizing paper-based medical records and sharing them with patients through an integrated patient portal. Through its merger with Favrille, Inc. in January 2009, the Company acquired intellectual property biotech assets that include anti-CD20 antibodies and data and samples from its FavId™/Specifid™ vaccine clinical trials for the treatment of B-Cell Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. To learn more about MMRGlobal, Inc. visit www.mmrglobal.com. View demos and video tutorials of the Company's products and services at www.mmrtheater.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
All statements in this press release that are not strictly historical in nature, including, without limitation, intellectual property enforcement actions, infringement claims or litigation, intellectual property licenses, and future performance, management's expectations, beliefs, intentions, estimates or projections, constitute "forward-looking statements." Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause MMR's actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some can be identified by the use of words (and their derivations) such as "need," "possibility," "potential," "intend," "offer," "development," "if," "negotiate," "when," "begun," "believe," "achieve," "will," "estimate," "expect," "maintain," "plan," and "continue," or the negative of these words. Actual outcomes and results of operations and the timing of selected events may differ materially from the results predicted, and any reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Such statements are necessarily based on assumptions and estimates and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those relating to the possible invalidity of the underlying assumptions and estimates and possible changes or developments in economic, business, industry, market, legal and regulatory circumstances and conditions and actions taken or omitted to be taken by third parties, including customers, suppliers, business partners, potential licensees, competitors and legislative, judicial and other governmental authorities and officials. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to: unexpected outcomes with respect to intellectual property enforcement actions, claims of intellectual property infringement and general intellectual property litigation; our ability to maintain, develop, monetize and protect our patent portfolio for both MMR's health IT and biotechnology intellectual property assets in the U.S. and internationally; the timing of milestone payments in connection with licensing our intellectual property; our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships; changes in our relationships with our licensees; the risk MMR's products are not adopted or viewed favorably by the healthcare community and consumer retail market; business prospects, results of operations or financial condition; risks related to the current uncertainty and instability in financial and lending markets, including global economic uncertainties; the timing and volume of sales and installations; the length of sales cycles and the installation process; the market's acceptance of new product and service introductions; competitive product offerings and promotions; changes in government laws and regulations including the 2009 HITECH Act and changes in Meaningful Use and the 2010 Affordable Care Act; future changes in tax legislation and initiatives in the healthcare industry; undetected errors in our products; the possibility of interruption at our data centers; risks related to third party vendors; risks related to obtaining and integrating third-party licensed technology; risks related to a security breach by third parties; risks associated with recruitment and retention of key personnel; other litigation matters; uncertainties associated with doing business internationally across borders and territories; and additional risks discussed in MMR's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. MMR is providing this information as of the date of this release and, except as required by applicable law, does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
CONTACT:
Michael Selsman
Public Communications Co.
ms@publiccommunications.biz
(310) 922-7033
