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Last year, the push for patent reform hit a roadblock in Congress when then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid refused to bring the Patent Abuse Reduction Act to the floor for a vote. In the war between industry advocates and trial lawyers, Reid chose the trial lawyers, and the patent trolls were off the hook. The new Republican majority is looking to break that pattern of obstruction. A new iteration of patent reform legislation is currently making its way through the Senate. A bill introduced on Wednesday would target firms that make their money not via innovation, but by filing bogus lawsuits against the innovators under the guise of protecting intellectual property. The bill, which is a product of negotiations between both parties, would place restrictions on "demand letters" sent by firms, end the practice of using shell corporations to hide who owns (or "owns") a patent, and shift the responsibility for paying court costs if the suit is not “objectively reasonable.” Patent reform is one of those unicorn-type issues that has bipartisan support, even if its backers sometimes disagree on the specifics.