The growth of "patent trolls"—companies that exist just to litigate patents—has been more than a decade in the making, and now the industry has reached such a tremendous size (around $29 billion in direct legal costs alone) that Congress is paying attention.

Today, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced that he'll be introducing the second bill this year meant to combat patent trolls. The first was the SHIELD Act, brought back in a new form this year by Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Jason Chaffetz (R-UT). The SHIELD Act would create a kind of "loser pays" system that only applies to trolls, which don't use their patents for anything other than licensing and litigation.

Schumer's bill also seeks to dramatically lower the cost of patent litigation, which can cost $2 million to $5 million to take through trial. (Schumer's statement today cites "an average of $1.75 million per case.")

The Schumer bill would expand a provision of the America Invents Act which allows for special reviews of patents for business methods only. The "Schumer-Kyl" provision allows business method patents to be challenged at issuance, in a procedure that must be completed within 18 months. Twenty such patents have been challenged under this provision.

Under the new proposal, that provision would expand beyond business methods into technology patents. It sounds like an opportunity to move patent disputes from courts to the PTO, where litigation will be cheaper. "A PTO prosecution system will provide patent holders and accused infringers with an alternative to court, which can be extremely costly," states Schumer's release.

Schumer also states:

Patent trolls are bullying New York’s technology companies, stymieing innovation and dragging down growth. It’s time we address this growing problem. This legislation will provide small technology start-ups with the opportunity to efficiently address these claims outside of the legal system, saving billions of dollars in litigation fees. The Patent and Trademark Office is already reviewing twenty patent cases in a temporary patent review program, and I am confident that extending this program will be beneficial to New York’s and the nation’s economy.

The bill will formally be introduced Monday, reports Reuters.