The Innovation Act was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on February 5, 2015 by Rep. Goodlatte. It was referred to the United States House Committee on the Judiciary. Opponents of the bill argued that the law would hurt smaller inventors that are trying to defend their patents from larger companies with more money to spend on legal action. In February 2015 the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities published a press release and an open letter to the senior members of the House and Senate Committees on the Judiciary, documenting their objections: The provisions with the most potential for damaging university technology transfer include fee-shifting and joinder. Most universities, non-profit technology transfer organizations, and their licensees — often small businesses and start-ups— lack extensive resources to enforce their patents. The heightened litigation risks created by the fee-shifting and joinder provisions in the Innovation Act would devalue patents, creating uncertainty that would undermine the incentives of potential licensees and venture capitalists to invest in commercialization of university innovation.  6 former supporters of H.R. 9 on the House Judiciary Committee have dropped their support for H.R. 9, four Republican and 2 Democrats. In addition, two other Democrats on the committee who voted for the failed Innovation Act in the 113th Congress who now oppose H.R. 9 sent out a 'dear colleague' letter in early July 2015 urging others to defect. They cited a slew of Supreme Court cases on patents that have changed precedent as well as changes at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office stating:. The patent landscape has changed dramatically in the past two years, and the changes (of the America Invents Act of 2011) are working to eliminate the need for the sweeping changes proposed in H.R. 9. Five Democrats dissented to the Innovation Act of the 113th Congress: John Conyers (MI), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX), Hank Johnson (GA), Bobby Scott (VA), and Mel Watt (NC). They "believe[d] that any serious reform of the patent laws" must end fee diversion "to ensure adequate hiring, proper training of examiners, and sustained patent quality"; they also stated that H.R.3309 "creates an imbalance in the patent system skewed in favor of big corporate interests, negatively impact all patent owners thereby undermining innovation, and would encroach on our longstanding deference to the prerogatives of the Judiciary." They wanted provisions "concerning real parties in interest, customer stays, and small business assistance" as well as a "revolving fund to end fee diversion", a "study on the practice of deceptive demand letters and a report with tailored recommendations on changes to laws and regulations that would deter the use of those letters."