The , introduced in the U.S. Senate Tuesday, is very similar to the Patent Reform Act of 2007, which died on the Senate floor last year. If passed, the 2009 version would change the way the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office works, bring U.S. patent law in line with global laws, and introduce so-called "reasonable royalty" provisions, which change the way damages are calculated and would reduce the likelihood of massive payouts for some patent holders.

The changes will "improve the quality of patents and remove the ambiguity from the process of litigating patent claims," said Senator Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who is one of the bill's sponsors, in a statement. The legislation is also sponsored by Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch. A House version of the legislation was also introduced Tuesday by John Conyers, a Michigan Democrat, and Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican.

The reasonable royalty provisions were "perhaps the most hotly debated topic in the patent reform debate last Congress," Leahy said.

Representatives from technology giants such as , Hewlett-Packard and Intel were quick to say that the changes would cut down on frivolous patent lawsuits.

The problem with the current patent system is that it gives "every incentive to people who have claims that are weak at best to go ahead and try them, because you might hit the jackpot," said Andrew Pincus, a lawyer retained by the which represents the technology companies.